I'll Tell You Their Story
by zivaisthetype
Summary: After tragedy strikes the team is left with Tony and Ziva's 12 year old child and only their story to tell. (discontinued until further notice)
1. Chapter 1

He wondered into the lab silently, undetected, like he always did when Gibbs took him to work. Abby would be expecting him, Evan knew. He and Abby got along pretty well. But today, she wasn't in her lab, bouncing off the walls from drinking an excessive amount of Caf-Pow. She wasn't in her office listening to her rather, interesting (as Gibbs liked to call it) taste in music. She wasn't anywhere. Evan made one last lap around the lab before heading towards the elevators. He pressed the button in disappointment. Gibbs said she would have been around, but yet he could not find her anywhere. Right now, Evan needed Abby more than anyone.

Gibbs had hardly even looked at him the same ever since he moved in. Evan understood, he knew Gibbs still cared about him. Ducky or Palmer wouldn't be the best people to talk to under the circumstances. McGee was too un-focused. Truthfully, now as he thought about more, Abby would probably be too heartbroken to talk. It was stupid for him to come down here. In reality, he had no one to talk too. The only two people he ever went to for help were laying dead in autopsy downstairs.

The elevator made its annoying _ding_ as the doors opened, welcoming the boy in. Evan was thankful no one had been waiting on the other side; some time alone would do him good. He waited patiently for the doors to close and for the elevator to go pass a couple floors before he hit the kill switch. The elevator came to a stop and the lights went out. He threw himself down in corner. Evan pressed his knees close to his body and hugged them tightly. He wasn't cold; he was trying to comfort himself.

His twelve-year-old body couldn't take much more of the pain. He was old enough to understand why they risked their lives everyday. He understood that they loved to protect people, to protect the innocent. He understood they loved working together, as partners, because truthfully, he knew they loved _each other_. What he didn't understand was why it had to be _them_. Why it had to be his two favorite people in the entire world? Why it had to be the man he looked up to every single day, or why it had to be the woman who held him when he was scared? Evan couldn't understand why death had finally caught up with _his _parents.

He dug his face into his knees and began to sob. It had happened too soon, he knew. They didn't deserve this. He didn't deserve this. The team didn't deserve this. He knew it was selfish to think, but in some terrible, twisted way, Evan wished it had happened to some other agents. To people he didn't know, that he didn't care about. Not to his family. Not to the two people that were his entire world. The boy wiped the few tears that had escaped from his eyes and pulled himself together. He gripped the bars on the side of the elevator, taking a few deep, long breaths before hitting the switch again. Evan squinted as the bright lights filled the elevator once more. There was a small jerk that knocked him against the wall before it started moving again. Before the elevator reached his floor, he gave the wall one hard punch out of anger. It wasn't like him to act weak, especially at a time like this.

Abby was waiting for him when the doors opened. She looked from the ground to the innocent boy that stood in front of her. Evan had never seen the Goth like this. Her hair wasn't perked up in pigtails, she hadn't put of makeup, and her outfit wasn't nearly _Abby_. The scientist tried to flash him a smile but was too depress and broken to make it look fairly happy. Evan didn't mind, he gave her his best smile in return anyways. The two exchanged places as the elevator doors closed with Abby in them. It was defiantly a good thing he didn't go and talk with her. She _was _too heartbroken.

For a while, he just stood in place. Evan could feel the eyes of people on him. He could feel the stares, and hear the whispers as everyone walked by. He shoved his hands deep down in his jean pockets, shifted his weight from foot to foot and kicked the group a little. Evan kept his eyes glued to the ground. He didn't dare look up at the office around him. He wouldn't admit it, but he was afraid. He knew this sort of stuff happened regularly. There would be replacements, there would be new agents, and life would go on; for _most _people. Unfortunately, he wasn't most people. While life went on, he knew he was going to be left behind. He knew life wasn't going to wait up for him.

Evan felt a familiar touch on his shoulders and turned around to see Gibbs looking down at him. Gibbs grabbed his shoulder and pulled him closer while walking him into the bullpen. Evan's eyes admittedly went to her desk. _She_ would always be the first one smiling, saying hello and greeting him with a hug and an unnecessary kiss on the check that would make him blush from embarrassment. Then _he _would always make a comment about how she was embarrassing his 'little man,' Evan would make his way over to his desk and slap his idol a high five while discussing which movie to watch later that night.

Evan quickly rubbed his eyes hard to stop the crying. Gibbs knelt down and gently rubbed his back. The boy responded by jumping onto him and hooking his arms around Gibbs' neck. A few years ago Gibbs would've been able to lift Evan fully off the ground to comfort him, but now Evan was getting taller, bigger, older, and all Gibbs could do was awkwardly hug him for as long as Evan needed it.

Evan looked up from Gibbs' shoulder to notice McGee sadly staring at the two of them. He broke out of Gibbs' grip and ran over to McGee who greeted him with open arms, ready for hugging. When Evan finally ran into Tim, they both gave a little 'umft' sound at the impact, which made Gibbs smile. McGee held the boy tightly and pulled him up to sit him nicely on his desk. Tim turned his chair so Evan would face him and neither of them had to face _their_ desks. It had only been a few days since they were gone, but today was the first time Evan had visited NCIS since the incident, and since he had moved in with Gibbs. McGee grunted as he motioned Evan off his desk and back onto the ground. For the second time today, some one tried to flash Evan a smile. McGee's smile looked just the same as Abby's. Depressed and broken.

"You're getting big, my man!" McGee tried to sound enthused but the thought of his two friends never getting to see their little boy grow up lingered in the back of his head. His tone ended up being a little sharp, but mostly sad. Evan took notice, but stayed strong.

"Thanks," was his response, in a hushed mumble. He turned to Gibbs who was standing in the middle of the squad room with a small smile around his lips. It was the first _real _smile Evan had seen all day.

"Can we go home now?" Evan found himself asking. He thought he had wanted to be here, but after an hour of just roaming around the building filled with memories with nothing to do, Evan realized he just wanted to be alone.

"Did you get to talk with Abby?" Gibbs asked. Evan had always been fond of Abby, which she loved, and the two always seemed to talk about everything together. He guessed that wasn't the case on a day like today.

"No, it is probably not a good time." Evan whispered to the ground, "Maybe later. Bye McGee." They all exchanged goodbyes as Gibbs walked Evan to the elevators with his hand placed gently on the twelve-year-old's shoulder. Evan was almost up to his shoulders. Gibbs' guessed that that was tall for a sixth grader, but wasn't really positive. When the doors opened, they both walked in. Once the elevator doors shut, Gibbs nudged Evan.

"You know its okay to talk about it with me." Gibbs informed him. Evan acted so hidden and hardly would ever show emotion. He was a strong young boy that had taken after both his mother and father.

"I know. I thought with Abby it might've been easier to talk, because she's Abby, ya know?" He paused in mid sentence, and then began again. "But when I saw her, she looked just like you do, and just like McGee does, and just like I do. I didn't think she would look like that. She's always so…_happy_."

Gibbs nodded in understanding as they both walked out of the building in unison. He knew that Evan wasn't going to fully open up until he knew he could talk to some one who was ready, which was going to take a while. Then he was going to have to make sure he was even ready, which was going to take even longer. Gibbs knew deep down that no one was going to be the same after the loss the team had just experienced. They reached his car and drove back to _their _house.

* * *

><p>Evan walked into his room which was Gibbs' old guest room. There were still piles of boxes in corners and under his bed. He still had a lot of un-packing to do, but never seemed to be able to put any of it away in the past few days. The only thing Evan had even touched from the moving boxes was a small picture frame with his whole family smiling inside.<p>

Now, he grabbed that frame and squirmed into bed, holding the picture close to his chest, remembering. Evan felt the tears swell up in his eyes as he took a quick glance of their family photo. His horrible thoughts started to swirl back into his brain; It should've been some one else, any other person, besides his mom and dad. Evan awoke from his thoughts when Gibbs knocked gently on his door.

"You okay?" He asked. The boy nodded, sat up in his bed, wiped his tears, and stuffed the frame under the covers.

"Will you tell me what they were like, before I was born?" Evan suddenly asked.

"What do you want to know?" Gibbs responded noticing Evan perk up slightly. He walked into the room and sat at the edge of the bed.

"I don't know." Evan thought, "What about their first date?"

Gibbs laughed a little, thinking back to his own memory about finding out his two agents were dating. "Actually, Abby knows that story a lot better than I do."

"Oh," Evan sighed and looked down at his lab. Gibbs placed his hand on Evan's knee.

"She likes telling that story. You should call her and ask her." Gibbs handed Evan his phone and watched him quickly dial the numbers. Evan held it up to his ear and waited patiently for Abby to pick up.

"Gibbs, how is Evan?" Abby asked when she answered the phone in a rather monotone voice.

"It's Evan, Abby. I have a question for you."

"What is it?" Abby asked, feeling even more depressed from Evan calling. She couldn't help but think of how he was never going to her his mom's or dad's voice over the phone ever again.

"I want to know about their first date."

Abby was surprised. "You want to know about Tony and Ziva's first date?" She repeated. "Why?"

Evan shrugged over the phone, even though Abby couldn't see him. "I think it will make me feel better. I want to know what they were like before I was born."

"Well, okay." Abby sounded unsure, but would tell him anyways. If this was what would make Evan feel better, she was willing to go through it. She didn't care how much she didn't want to talk about what her friends used to be like, she didn't care how much pain the memories would bring back, she didn't care how many tears she would cry when she told Evan the story over the phone. If this was what would make that little boy happy, she was going to do it. Because right now, he was all that mattered; to her, to Gibbs, to McGee, to everyone, even Tony and Ziva. She sighed a little and began to talk. "Well, it all started with McGee…"

* * *

><p><strong>And to clear up anything<span> I DO NOT WISH DEATH ON ZIVA OR TONY.<span> I'm not kidding when I say this is a Tony/Ziva story, trust me, it's comming up. If this is at all confusing to anyone I'm super sorry, hopefully things will get a little less confusing when I post the second chapter.**

**-Sam**


	2. Chapter 2

**Two Chapters in one day(: I'm really showing you guys some love! NCIS is not mine**

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><p>McGee didn't mind the flirting, or the fighting, or the jokes, but he always hated when they brought him between them. He and Tony, whether either of them would admit it, were good friends and Ziva was like his second sister. So yet again, when their bickering didn't come to an end and neither of them had turned out victorious, they both shot a look over at the Probie.<p>

"McGee, tell Tony that chewing with his mouth open is extremely distasting and rude." Ziva commanded as Tony yelled over top of her.

"Tell her, McGoo. This is what DiNozzos do! It's our way of life!"

"But it's gross Tony!" Ziva exclaimed, now forgetting about Tim after a few moments.

"Then don't look Zee-vah!" Tony shot back. McGee held his head in his hand and moaned lightly. Their fighting had gotten louder and had gotten the attention of he whole floor. He slowly reached for his phone and called down to Abby's lab. She answered with a pleasant hello. Between her music blaring and Tony and Ziva arguing, McGee could barely her himself talk.

"I need you up here now." McGee begged and hung up the phone before she could argue. He knew if he didn't give her time to decline, curiosity would get the best of her and she would eventually make it up to the squad room anyways. As their voices slowly got louder McGee wondered where Gibbs was. If he were to hear them, there would be some particularly hard head slaps in their future.

"Why do you even care how I chew?" Tony asked, food spitting out of his mouth as he ate his lunch. Ziva narrowed his eyes and gave him a disgusted face.

"Because I do not want to look up and see you spitting food everywhere!" Ziva explained. McGee couldn't help but notice the two of them seemed to be smiling despite their disagreement. Just as Tony was opening his mouth to say something clever back, the elevator dinged announcing that some one had arrived. The whole floor went silent as everyone feared that Gibbs would be the one to walk out. But instead of the broad, silver haired man walking out, it was the skinny, black haired Goth running out, trying not to trip over her heels.

McGee stood up from his chair. "Abby!" He exclaimed as Ziva and Tony began their bickering once again, only in a more hushed manner. Abby announced herself and stood between their two desks where they were yelling. She held up both her hands and glared at her two friends. Tony and Ziva admittedly shut up.

"I think I speak for everyone when I say I'm tired of you two trying to out prove each other at everything." Abby truthfully admitted.

* * *

><p>"Wow, you were pretty blunt." Evan said, smiling. Gibbs softly tussled his hair.<p>

"So were your parents." He responded. They heard Abby try and laugh but she choked on some tears that were coming up in her eyes. The two frowned at the phone hearing this out of the happy Goth. "You okay, Abs?" Gibbs asked. From the lab, Abby nodded even know they couldn't see her. She felt arms around her body and heard McGee say,

"Yeah, I'm here."

Evan looked at Gibbs who just stared at the phone. He saw a little shimmer in his light, blue eyes that made Evan's body shiver. He never saw Gibbs cry, never. Not even the day he picked him up from school and told Evan the news about his parents. He guessed Gibbs had cried, he was human after all, but Evan never imagined Gibbs crying in front of anybody. It made Evan nervous and scared, but mostly, it just made him sad. The tears rolled down his face again. Gibbs noticed, wiped away his own tears, and pulled the boy into his arms and began talking to Abby and McGee.

"How about you two come over?" He asked through the phone. "Grab Duck and Palmer too."

"Okay boss." McGee obeyed while holding Abby. They were about to hang up when the young boy's voice spoke up.

"Just, finish the story first!" He pleaded. The two agents stopped leaving the lab and Gibbs got a tighter grip on Evan. After a moment of silence, Abby spoke up. Her voice was scratchy and she violently chocked back tears.

"Okay, Evan. I will."

* * *

><p>Tony, Ziva, McGee, and pretty much the whole floor stared at Abby. She breathed in the office air and waved the two agents over. They obeyed and in seconds, were standing in front of her. Abby turned to Tony first. She looked into her good friend's eyes and smiled to relieve tension. He smiled back, not expecting what was coming next.<p>

"You, apologize to Ziva." Abby commanded. Tony's jaw drop and began trying to explain himself. He pointed at Ziva but Abby held up her hand to stop him. "Now Tony." Tony turned to Ziva, who was biting her tongue to stop her laughter.

"Sorry Zi." Tony mumbled. Abby smiled at the Italian agent as to him she was pleased. But now, Abby turned to Ziva.

"Now you have to apologize, Ziva."

Ziva's reaction was the same as Tony's, but sighed loudly and did it anyways. "Sorry Tony." Tony gave her a cocky smile and their eyes connected for the first time today. They got serious, just getting lost in each other's eyes. Usually, this would've happened a lot earlier in the day, but since their arguing was over powering their urge to flirt. Tony hadn't gotten a chance to look at those gorgeous brown eyes and Ziva hadn't really seen his beautiful green ones. People around the office began loosing interest and they all started moving again. But Ziva and Tony were locked on each other, and Abby and McGee were locked on Tony and Ziva. The three agents and forensic scientist stood in the middle of the bullpen, not moving. Finally, Abby broke the silence.

"Tony, I think you need to make it up to Ziva, for whatever you did." Abby snorted, smiling at her friends who were lost in each other. Tony broke away from Ziva's gaze and glared at Abby.

"Now that isn't fair." He argued.

"You haven't even heard what I was going to say!" Abby exclaimed. She was now jumping up in excitement. Ziva and McGee now looked at Abby with curiosity.

"To make it up to Ziva, you're going to take her out to dinner." Abby stated. It wasn't a suggestion, it wasn't a question, it was a command and everyone knew it. Tony look from Abby to Ziva, who wasn't looking at him anymore. It wasn't a bad idea…

"Abby, you do not have to force Tony to go out to dinner with me. I do not want to go out with him if he chews like _that_." She tried an insult to cover her clear want to go out with him. She would never admit it though. Ziva purposely didn't look at Tony, knowing that he was now fully looking at her now. She was afraid she would blush if she saw that smile of his.

"It's not up for debate, Ziva. Tony's going to make it up to you by asking you out and you'll make it up to him by saying yes." Abby put her hands on her hips and winked over at McGee who was shocked. There was silence. Abby nudged Tony a little. "Go ahead."

"Ziva." She still wasn't looking at him. The more she looked away, the more he wanted her. The more he wanted to ask her out, the more he knew this was a good idea. He took his hand and placed it on her face. He forced her to look at him when he noticed her blushing. This made him smile. "Would you come to dinner with me tonight?"

Ziva crossed her arms and shook his hand off her cheek. She knew he could probably feel the heat from her embarrassment and couldn't stand it anymore. The former Mossad agent looked from McGee, to Abby, and then Tony, where her eyes stayed locked. "Of course I will."

* * *

><p>Tony actually was feeling nervous. A <em>DiNozzo <em>was scared to go on a first date. He had never felt this before any date in his life. Anthony DiNozzo was not the type of man to get feel un-easy before anything to do with women. But yet, here he was, staring in his mirror trying to make is hair _just right_. Trying to get his dress shirt _perfect_. Looking good had never come this hard to him before, what was different about tonight? Tony got himself looking as good as he was going to get before heading towards his car to pick up his _date_, Ziva.

Ziva paced around her apartment. Her heels were forming blisters on her feet from pacing so much, but she couldn't help it. Tony was ten minutes late, _ten minutes_. What if he blew her off? What if he forgot? What if she was waiting in her apartment for him in her elegant black dress, perfectly curled hair, and beautiful heels, for nothing? Sure, she might've been over reacting. It was only ten minutes, but to her, it felt like ten _hours_. Ziva threw herself on her couch, ready to give up hope, when there was a hard knock at the door. She ended up running to the door in excitement. Before opening her door, she fiddled with her hair and straightened out her dress. She _had _to look _perfect_. And once she opened the door and saw Tony, looking as good as ever, smiling down at her she knew she had succeeded. He reached for her hand and Ziva let him take it. Their fingers intertwined as Tony led Ziva to his car.

There was never a dull moment at the restaurant. Tony had ordered pizza while Ziva had ordered a salad, which didn't fill her up completely. Whenever Tony would casually look away, Ziva was always right there taking a slice of his delicious pizza. They laughed, and joked, and basically had a nice time. And at the end of two hours, the two were still sitting in the restaurant, talking and having fun.

"What did you first think of me when you met me?" Tony asked as he paid the waitress. They still remained seated.

"Um," Ziva pondered, "well, I thought you were cute but I did remember not liking you at first." She admitted, playing with her curls and smiling big.

"What about now?" Tony asked, smiling back at her. She laughed loudly and felt her cheeks get red again. Ziva set her elbow on the table and rest her chin in one hand, thinking and staring.

"What do you mean?" She said, knowing exactly what he meant.

"How do you like me now?"

"Well, I guess I was wrong." Ziva smiled and battered her eyes. Tony laughed and got up from his seat, taking Ziva's hand yet again and leading them back to the car. Before Tony could open the door for her, she stopped him.

"Do you want to take a walk?" She asked.

"Aren't you cold?" He asked, looking at her small sweater that covered only her shoulders and her dress that barely came past her knees.

"If I am, aren't you supposed to offer me your jacket?" She said cleverly. He laughed and took off his jacket and threw it on her. They walked hand in hand downtown until the two came to a bench and sat down.

"This was nice." Ziva admitted leaning her head on his shoulder.

"Yeah." Tony agreed looking down at her. He wrapped his arm around Ziva and pulled her closer. Ziva thought it would feel awkward, but once he had her fully in his grip, it felt more _right_ than anything. It felt right for both of them. Realization began to swell up in both of their bodies. As if they were reading each other's mind, both Tony and Ziva looked at each other. Even in the dark, their eyes connected. It was such a magical moment as she began to lean into him. He grabbed her face to force her to come closer. They could taste each other's breath; feel each other's warmth. But before their lips could collide, the moment was ruined when Tony's phone went off. Tony sighed and Ziva dug her face into his shoulder, they were both disappointed. The two used all their will power to pull away from each other as Tony answered his phone with a "DiNozzo."

"Tony, it's McGee. Boss just called me and…"

"McGee," he snapped, "can't this wait?"

"Oh, you're still with Ziva aren't you?" McGee realized and began laughing.

Tony sighed, "Fine McGee, what did the boss want?"

"He said we have a dead marine and that we're starting a few hours earlier tomorrow."

"Alright, bye." Tony growled.

"Tell Ziva, too! So you save me a phone call."

"Fine." Tony hung up the phone and smiled back at Ziva, who had every word on Tony's end of the conversation. "Boss says we are starting extra early tomorrow." She nodded. Tony went to pull her in close again to maybe savior that _right _feeling one more time, but Ziva pulled away.

"We better be getting home then." Ziva stated and started walking from the bench to Tony's car. He rushed up to her side. Tony's hand fell awkwardly at his side now that it was gripping Ziva's. After a long, awkward, walk back to his car he opened the door for her and ushered her in. He got in the driver's seat and started to drive back to Ziva's apartment. The car ride was just as awkward, if not more, than the walk. In the end, Tonyended up walking her to her door. The two agents were left just standing, eyes looking everywhere except at each other. Ziva grabbed her keys from her sweater pocket and unlocked the door. She noticed her hands shaking, probably from the nerves. This was the end of their date; this was when they were supposed to end a perfect night with a perfect kiss. But now, everything seemed awkward, like Tony's phone ringing was a sign that they weren't meant to be; that their lips were never supposed to meet. Now Ziva was standing in her doorway staring back at Tony.

"Thank you." She said, trying to smile. It was hard. She was disappointed and it was hard to shake the feeling that this, _they_, weren't meant to be.

"Goodnight Ziva." Tony whispered. She slowly shut the door. Her fingers touched the frame and she held onto the knob as if she didn't want to let go of their moment. Ziva sighed loudly when she began to take off her jacket, which she now realized was Tony's. Now having an excuse, she whipped the door back open to find her partner slowly walking down the hall.

"Tony!" She called holding up his jacket. He turned and his whole face seemed to light up. Sure, it might've been a sign when his phone went off just seconds before their lips connected, but forgetting his jacket could've have been a sign too; a good sign. He probably looked idiotic, but Tony sprinted down the hall to get to Ziva as fast as possible. She didn't say anything as he pressed himself against her. Ziva felt her body hit the wall and his fingers touch her curls. She looked up at Tony who was already leaning down towards her. Ziva dropped his jacket on the floor and cupped his face with her hands. And finally, their lips collided in a beautiful kiss. And it wasn't a bad sign that they fit together like two pieces to a perfect puzzle.

* * *

><p>Evan leaned against Gibbs as Abby finished her story.<p>

"And that was their first date. Ziva was so excited she told me about it all the next morning." Abby finished.

"Yeah, and Tony didn't fail to mention it either." McGee said and they all shared a small, sad, laugh.

"So I guess I have you to thank for my mom and dad getting together." Evan smiled. His fingers flew under his covers and found the family portrait. He pressed it back against his chest.

"Evan, your parents, Tony and Ziva, would've gotten together with or without me. It was inevitable."

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><p><strong>Since I got two chapters done in ONE DAY, I think its only fair that you show me some love and drop a review? I liked seeing all the Alerts too, Thanks so much(: I hope this wasn't too sappy or anything but I think my hopeless romantic side is showing again. <strong>

**-Sam**


	3. Chapter 3

Evan sat on his bed and cuddled himself. The boxes were over filling his new room in Gibbs' home. It annoyed him to see them sitting there, collecting dust the past few days, but he was too stubborn and too sad to put any of his things away. But Ducky, Abby, McGee, and Palmer were coming over soon and it was embarrassing to Evan that he had only unpacked a picture frame. Finally pulling himself together, the sixth grader dropped down to the floor and grabbed the nearest box. He ripped it opened. The tears came down like a waterfall.

Evan pulled out his bed sheets with footballs printed on them. He and his dad adored to play football, watch football, and even talk about football. When they weren't watching Magnum or James bond, the two boys were watching football. Evan cried silently while pulling Gibbs' plain white sheets off the bed and replacing them with his old sheets. He stood back and looked at his new bed. Now it looked just like his old bed used too. Evan sighed while looking down into the box that still held items that desperately need to be unpacked. He kicked it under his bed. He didn't want to do this anymore. He was done for today.

Evan wandered out of his room and around Gibbs' house. He took a look in the kitchen; no Gibbs. He peeked in his room; no Gibbs. He ventured to the living room where he found a perfectly framed picture of the whole team; Ducky, Palmer, Gibbs, Abby, his dad, and then his mom who was holding Evan as a baby. They all looked so happy, not a care in the world. Evan took a double take around the whole living room; still no Gibbs. It wasn't a surprise; Evan knew he was downstairs working on his boat. He stood at the landing of the basement stairs debating whether to go down there with him, or just let him be alone for a bit. Gibbs hadn't had alone time since he had picked Evan up from school a few days ago. He had been working tirelessly with Evan, comforting him, holding him, telling him everything would be okay even though they both knew it was a lie.

Evan turned to leave but realized Gibbs must've heard him because suddenly his name was being called. "Evan? You okay bud?" Gibbs asked. Evan walked half way down the basement steps and shook his head 'no.' Gibbs held out his arms and waved the boy over. He was soon embraced with a hug. Evan's arms wrapped around Gibbs' torso and Gibbs wrapped his arms around the boy's back. "You're being very strong, Evan." Gibbs assured him. "You are a very brave boy."

"I don't know why it had to be them, Gibbs. I don't know why it had to be _my _mom and dad. Did I do something wrong?" Evan looked up at Gibbs. That's when they both burst into tears. Their sobs echoed through out the basement. Gibbs knelt down so Evan was standing over him.

"Evan Jethro DiNozzo," Gibbs started, using his full name as to warn him that he meant business. "None of this was your fault at all, I promise. You did nothing wrong. Your mom and dad did not deserve this, neither did you, okay?" Evan nodded but looked away. Gibbs lightly shook the boy to get him to look at him. "You are not at fault." Evan nodded again, keeping his eyes locked on Gibbs, his new guardian. Gibbs rubbed Evan's shoulder and handed him some tools. "You want to help me with this boat?" He asked even though it was practically finished already. Evan smiled brightly and took the sanding tools. Gibbs got behind him and placed his larger hands over Evan's smaller ones. "With the grain." He advised. After a while, Gibbs let Evan sand on his own and grabbed his own tools. They sat in silence, only listening to the sound of the paper against the wood of the boat. Finally, Evan broke the quiet.

"Mom said you have these rules against partners dating." He acknowledged.

Gibbs smiled and nodded. "I do."

"What happens if some one broke them?"

"I don't know. I never had anyone break rule number twelve."

"But my mom and dad did. I'm here." Evan said. Gibbs smiled and nodded again.

"Well, your mom and dad were different. When they were together, something just clicked. I learned to accept that they were put on this Earth for each other and no rule was going to stop them."

"But weren't you mad at first? Dad always mentioned the Gibbs' slaps." Evan motioned his hand above his head, pretending to slap himself on the back of the head.

"Yeah, I was pretty angry." Gibbs sighed, now regretting all the yelling he had put his two best agents through just because they had fallen in love. He looked up at Evan who waited patiently for him to continue. "You want to hear _that _story?" Gibbs asked. Evan pursed his lips and nodded. Gibbs wasn't too sure. It was one of the few bad memories he had with them, one of the very few memoires he regretted now that they were gone. But Abby had managed talk about them with only one or two slip ups that left her crying over the phone. Gibbs pulled his stool around and set it down near Evan's. He sat down in front to the boy. He could do this. "Well, basically the whole floor was talking about it. Now, I might be a little on the old side, but I still hear my fair share of gossip…"

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><p>Gibbs stormed through the hallways. He made a left turn past interrogation, made another right, and went straight down the hall where he finally reached the squad room. He knew it would've happened soon or later. Gibbs wasn't dumb. He had seen all the signs, heard all the rumors. Hell, they always seemed to flirt in front of him or bicker like they were married. Yeah, Gibbs knew there was no way he was going to stop his two best agents from getting together. He just wished he had heard it from them instead of over hearing the gossip in the break room.<p>

"You two, my office. _Now_." Gibbs loudly announced and started for the elevator. Tony and Ziva looked up from their paper work realizing they were the only two in the squad room. They gave each other worried glares, not know exactly what to expect as they both ran after Gibbs. Tony shoved his hand between the closing doors just in time. The two stepped inside to face Gibbs. His face had gotten a little pink, his nostrils were flaring, and Tony noticed he had accidently spilled some coffee when he had angrily stormed off.

"Oh shit." Tony mumbled. They were in for a world of hell. Gibbs would never spill coffee.

* * *

><p>"You okay with the language?" Gibbs asked, interrupting his own story.<p>

"Yeah, I hear worse stuff on the playground." Evan admitted. Gibbs laughed, guessing this were true. Tony and Ziva did their best to keep Evan's vocabulary strictly appropriate. Ziva would swear in Hebrew, Tony would cuss in Italian. Their fist mistake was sending the kid to public school.

* * *

><p>There was silence. Gibbs reached over and flipped the kill switch, sending the elevator to shut down completely. "What the hell are you two doing?" He yelled.<p>

Ziva looked over to Tony, who was just staring at the ground. Obviously he had figured out what Gibbs was so pissed about, she still didn't have the slightest idea. She wanted to nudge Tony and try to get answers, but figured it wasn't a good idea with Gibbs standing in front of them, since he was obviously mad at the both of them. Ziva turned back to Gibbs who was getting pinker by the second. "I do not have the slightest clue what you are talking about, Gibbs." She felt Tony look up at her. His hand automatically gripped her arm. She turned to him and noticed he was shaking his head as if to say 'we are walking on thin ice right now, do not push it.' But it was already too late. Gibbs threw his coffee to the ground, spilling it all over the elevator floor.

"Do not act all innocent with me David!" His voice was so loud, Tony guessed people from a few floors up probably heard him. "What is the most important rule in my rule book? The one rule you are _never _supposed to break."

"Never mess with a marine's coffee." Tony mumbled, looking at his coffee stained shoes and trying to avoid that _actual _rule Gibbs was talking about. He felt a quick burn onthe back of his head. Tony winced; it was probably his hardest Gibbs' slap yet.

"Cut the crap, DiNozzo. I am _not _in the mood for your silly ass comments right now." Gibbs boomed. He took a quick glance at his hand. He would've been lying if he said it didn't hurt from the slap.

"Never date a co-worker." They both heard Ziva mummer to the floor.

"Thank you David, for finally getting on the same page as us." Gibbs snapped.

"But Gibbs…" Ziva started, but he cut her off. It broke her heart how angry he was with the two of them, with her. Ever since she had left Mossad, Gibbs was always the one person she went to for advice, for help, for things that only a father could give to her. Now, for the first time ever, Gibbs was so angry with her that he didn't even want to talk to with her.

"Were you guys even going to tell me?" Gibbs asked, a little calmer but still loud enough for his voice to bounce off the elevator walls.

"Of course we were boss…" Tony started, but was cut off just like Ziva.

"How did this even happen?" Gibbs boomed.

"Abby…Abby wanted us to go out." Ziva stammered. She felt ashamed for selling out her friend, but knew Abby would be okay. She was Gibbs' favorite after all.

"Abby?" Gibbs was now in shock. He went to flip the switch again to go down and speak with his scientist about this when Tony and Ziva stepped in front of him.

"It wasn't all her fault, boss. She just gave us a little push. I _wanted _to ask Ziva out." Tony admitted. Ziva couldn't help but smile despite the situation she was in. She quickly glanced up at Tony, who had never looked more sincere in his life.

"And I wanted to say yes." Ziva blurted out. Now Tony was the one to smile.

"When were you two going to tell me? In a few days? A few weeks? Months? _Years_? Tell me the truth." Gibbs snapped, stepping away from the switch.

"We have only been dating for a few days, boss. We hadn't planned that far!" Tony explained. His excuses didn't cut it.

"I want to know _when_." Gibbs demanded. The two agents looked to each other then to the ground. Truthfully, they didn't have the slightest clue. It really had been only a few days. It wasn't like they were getting serious, but it wasn't like they didn't like each other…a lot. After a long pause from both of his agents, Gibbs nodded and leaned over to hit the switch. The elevator came back to life when Gibbs mumbled, "That's what I thought."

Ziva looked up at him then flipped the switch again, shutting down the elevator. She took a deep breath to try and gain some confidence. "It is not like we were not going to tell you at all. We were not just going to leave this job, or you, especially not you Gibbs."

"We both love this job, boss. We both love you too. We weren't just going to push any of it out of our lives just for each other. Sure, we might be a big part of each other's life now," Tony said, taking Ziva's hand in front of Gibbs, "but so are you, and this job, and everyone that comes with it."

"We were not just going to leave." Ziva finished. Gibbs looked between Ziva and Tony. He was still angry, no matter what they said to him.

"What if I make you leave?" He asked. Their mouths both opened and their hands both fell to their sides. Tony got wide eyed and Ziva pressed her fingers to her temples.

"Do you really mean that boss?" Tony asked.

"I might." Gibbs answered. Tony shook his head as he reached for his badge and gun. He held the two items in his hands until he shoved them over to Gibbs.

"Take them then. Ziva loves this job way too much…"

"No!" Ziva interrupted reaching for her badge and gun. She shoved them over to Gibbs who now held two badges and guns. "Tony loves this job way more than I do."

Gibbs looked down at the NCIS badges and guns that he held in his arms. Truthfully, he was absolutely stunned. He looked up at Ziva, who was on the verge of crying, and then to Tony, who looked ready to comfort her. That's when he made his decision. He handed the two agents their badges and then their guns and sighed loudly. "If you two are willing to give up your badges for each other that's good enough for me." He turned the elevator back on as Ziva and Tony turned towards their doors and faced their backs to their boss. They smiled uncontrollably until they both felt a slap on the back of the head. "But if either one of you hand me your badge again, you better be prepared to loose it."

* * *

><p>"Are you still mad at them?" Evan asked not realizing how guilty Gibbs was feeling right now. He shook his head.<p>

"No, not at all. Like I said, I realized that they were meant for each other. My rules didn't mean anything compared to what they had. Plus," Gibbs started looking up from the ground where he told the story and back to the innocent twelve-year-old boy sitting in front of him. "They gave me my first grandchild." Evan's lip quivered as Gibbs placed a small kiss on top of his head. "I love you, and I loved your mom and dad. Do me a favor and never forget that." Gibbs whispered. Evan nodded when they heard a doorbell echo through the whole house.

* * *

><p><strong>Big thanks to <em>wtyrtewq, ziva-abby11, FamishedSinger, <em>and _Sitting Ducki _for reviewing(: Keep them comming, I really love seeing reviews! **

**-Sam**


	4. Chapter 4

**Not 100% happy with this chapter, sorry if you guys are disapointed! NCIS is not mine ):**

* * *

><p>Under the circumstances, it wasn't odd for them to ring the doorbell. Sure, never ring Gibbs' doorbell was basically an unwritten rule in everyone's eyes, but things were different; <em>people <em>were different. Evan hid behind Gibbs as he opened the door, even though the boy already knew everyone waiting on the front steps. It wasn't as if Evan was scared, just nervous. He knew once the rest of the team stepped through the door, he would be attacked with sympathy; and that didn't set easy in the sixth grader's gut.

It wasn't like Evan didn't appreciate everyone's hugs, and pats on the shoulder, and small nods of affection; he really was thankful that the rest of the team cared about him. But deep down, it wasn't him that he wanted them to feel badly for; it was his mom and dad. Evan didn't want Duck, Abby, McGee, Palmer, or even Gibbs to feel sorry for a twelve-year-old boy who could barely keep his grades up to a B ever since middle school. It was the two people that went out everyday, risking their lives and loving what they did that Evan wanted them to feel bad for, to feel sorry for, and to give their attention to.

But Evan said nothing as Abby rushed into Gibbs' house, embracing him with a strong hug. She held him in her arms for a long time then pulled away and looked directly at him, saying nothing. Evan didn't know if Abby wanted him to speak first, or if she was going to speak up first. He never found out. Abby walked away from him, flashing only a small smile towards him after, for the first time in her life, not knowing what to say.

Tim approached him and gave him a nice nudge on the shoulder, trying to make their conversation fairly normal. "Hey bud, how are you?" McGee knew it was a stupid thing to ask, probably the dumbest thing to ever say to a boy who had just lost both of his parents. Abby overheard and sighed loudly. She whispered harsh words into McGee's ear before taking his hand and pulling him away before he could say anything else.

Ducky and Palmer were next. Jimmy reached out to give Evan a hug. He embraced Palmer, trying to make is social awkwardness less awkward. When they pulled away he whispered some words like, "I'm proud of you," and "Your parents were amazing people." Ducky, however, came right up to Evan and squeezed his body tightly. He started talking but once Ducky called him a 'young lad,' Evan stopped paying attention. Evan looked up to Gibbs for help. Gibbs noticed and took Duck into the dinning room where everyone had gathered.

They all stood awkwardly around the table where no one dared to sit down. All of them, _together_, around a table reminded them way to much of co-workers, of their friends, of their _family_. "Oh dear," Ducky suddenly spoke, "This is going to be harder than I thought." Evan looked over to the head M.E. who was already being comforted by Abby. She wrapped her arms around the old man and gave him a quick squeeze.

"I actually have some leftover ham from last night." Gibbs stated. "Me and Evan couldn't finish it all by ourselves…" He choked on the last few words, but kept his composure.

"Palmer and I will help you, boss." McGee offered, following Gibbs and Jimmy into the kitchen. Evan took his usual seat that he would sit in when the whole team gathered every Tuesday for dinner. He looked to his left, where his dad usually sat, then to the right, where his mom would be. Evan was trying really hard not to cry, but accidentally let one tear slip. Abby and Ducky noticed, but didn't say anything. The two hesitantly took their seats as Palmer brought everyone their dishes.

Soon they were all sitting at Gibbs' dinning room table, quietly listening to the sounds of their silverware hit the plates as they each finish off the meal. Surprisingly, Gibbs broke the silence.

"I just finished telling Evan about the day I found out Tony and Ziver were dating." Gibbs managed to crack a small smile as the whole table shared a depressed laugh. They all knew how Gibbs had reacted. They were a family after all and families didn't keep secrets.

"You like hearing stories, huh?" Abby smiled from across the table. Evan nodded slightly. He was a bit embarrassed, but no one took notice. They didn't care, they enjoyed telling him.

"Well then, I think I have a story." Ducky announced. Evan grew excited and turned towards the doctor.

"About what?" He asked anxiously.

"Well, Anthony and Ziva started these 'annual' dinner parties…" Ducky started until Abby interrupted him.

"Well if you're going to start telling him about our first dinner party as a team, you _have _to tell him about them moving in together first." She insisted shooting a look over at Evan who was getting happier by the second.

"I'm afraid I don't know that story Abigail." Ducky replied. Evan's smile instantly turned to a frown. It seemed like a good story that was in need of telling, and that he was in desperate need of hearing. But he guessed the whole team didn't know _everything _about his parents. Now, he found himself wishing he could ask his mom and dad about everything.

"Don't worry!" Abby said, noticing Evan's disappointment. "Me and Ziva, we talked _a lot_." She smiled and began explaining.

* * *

><p>His knocks on the door every other night were now normal. Him staying the night a few times a week was now normal. Making dinner for two, snuggling on the couch while watching movies, all of that was now normal. But tonight was certainly not normal. Ziva could tell from his first knock on her apartment door.<p>

She opened it, smiling at Tony even though she sensed the hesitation. Now, she saw it. His smile was nervous when he saw her. She noticed him shaking a bit as he stepped inside. He didn't say hello or make some sort of sarcastic comment. Something was defiantly up.

Tonight was the first night that they had off in _days_. Calls were coming in from all over Virginia, Maryland, and even right in the middle of Washington D.C. Dead petty officer, dead marine, another killed lieutenant; it was like the murders were never ending. Today was the day the calls stopped, and the paper work began. After twelve hours of the team doing non-stop work with no bathroom breaks and no lunch, Gibbs had had enough and finally told everyone to go home. And Ziva was ecstatic about Tony's visit, even though he seemed completely different than all the nights before, but she didn't say a thing to put her perfect night in jeopardy.

Ziva calmly shut the door as Tony shuffled into the kitchen, towards the smell of her meal cooking. He made his way to the pot when he stuck his finger in the food and licked it with a pleased look on his face.

"You like it?" Ziva asked, grateful that his weird mood wasn't affecting his eating habits. She had been working tirelessly since she got him from the office to prepare them both soup and a ham that was cooking in the stove.

"I sure do." He pointed inside the stove then peeked through the window. "You're cooking a ham too?"

"Yes. I thought I would make something special for our first night off in days." She sighed wrapping her arms comfortably around his torso. She was expecting him to lean down and place his lips on hers, but instead he awkwardly placed his hands on her shoulders. Ziva pulled away and turned back to the pot. Something was wrong with him. Maybe something had happened and he didn't want to talk about it. She could understand that. Ziva decided to ignore it and hoped things would get better as the night went on. The oven signaled that ham was done. Ziva grabbed it out from the stove and set the large ham down on a plate. She poured her soup into two separate bowls and set the table, expecting Tony to already be sitting at the sound of the oven going off. He wasn't. Tony was wandering around her living awkwardly looking at pictures, which he had already seen before, that were hanging on the wall with his hands dug deep down in his pockets. Ziva frowned as she set the rest of the table.

"Tony."

He turned at the sound of her voice. He tried to smile at her, but his nerves were seriously killing him inside. "Yeah?"

"Dinner is ready."

"Oh!" No, the nerves were _murdering _him. He would've heard the timer go off from the stove, or would've smelled the food on the table, on any normal night. Tony was defiantly off his game tonight.

They sat down and began eating, silently. Ziva felt so weird eating with Tony and laughing, smiling, or even joking. When they were together, they were always doing something fun, even if they were just eating dinner. She squirmed in her chair from the awkward, unpleasant, feeling that swarmed the air around the two. Ziva managed to shake the feeling off through their silent dinner.

"What movie do you want to watch? I do not have many choices…" Ziva started looking through her entertainment center for _anything _to pop into the DVD player.

"Yeah, sorry about that. I didn't realize I forgot to bring over something." Tony rubbed the back of his neck that was now sweating.

"No, it is okay." Ziva assured him, even though she was now worried. Anthony DiNozzo _never _forgot to bring over a movie. After a few minutes of searching and only finding _The Sound of Music_, which was one of Ziva's favorites but Tony always hated when she would belt out the lyrics to every song, Ziva turned to her boyfriend. Again, he was shifting his weight from foot to foot with his hands deep down in his pockets.

"Do you want to watch some TV?" Ziva asked, trying to make her night as normal as she could no matter how Tony was acting. They made their way to the couch while Tony picked a channel to watch. Ziva made herself comfortable on his chest. She was expecting the feeling of his arm being wrapped around her body, but she never felt it. After a few minutes with Tony trying his hardest not to touch her, Ziva couldn't help but say something.

"Is everything okay?" She asked, sitting up from his chest to look at him.

"Yeah." Tony responded, eyes glued to the TV.

"You are not mad?"

"No."

"So you are not mad at me?"

"Of course not!" Tony said, not hesitating for the first time since he set foot in her apartment. He turned to her. Their eyes locked in place.

"Why are acting so _weird _then?" Ziva asked. Now she was sitting up, away from him. She wanted to know what his issue was, and she was determined to find out.

"I don't know." Tony lied. Ziva cocked her head at him and sighed loudly. "I really don't Zi!" Tony insisted, even though he knew she could that he was lying.

"Fine, if you do not want to talk about it then you do not want to talk about it." Ziva huffed, crossing her arms and scooting further away from him. Tony sighed, knowing he had screwed up. Now was the time to face his fears and grow up.

"Okay Ziva." He said so she would look back at him. "I'm basically over here every night, or you're over at my house every night…"

"What does this have to do with anything, Tony?" Ziva snapped.

"I was just, maybe wondering if you would want to…move in together." Tony hesitated, scared for her reaction. What if she said no? He didn't even know what they would do if she said _yes_. Ziva's eyes grew wide and she scooted back towards him.

"Do you really mean that?" She asked. Tony looked into her deep, brown eyes and nodded. "Alright…" Ziva started, but Tony took her reaction differently.

"Oh God, you don't want to." He mumbled, throwing his head into his hands.

"No Tony! I would love to!" Ziva insisted. "I was just thrown off by the way you were acting."

Tony looked up from his hands. "How was I acting?"

"Hesitant, nervous, scared…You were scared to ask me to move in with you!" Ziva smiled catching him. Tony blushed, but denied everything.

"Oh please, _DiNozzos _don't get scared." Tony said, acting like himself for the first time tonight. Ziva laughed loudly.

"You were scared! Tony," Ziva said, calming down a little to get serious, "I would have said yes not matter what."

"Well I didn't know that," He grabbed her waist and pulled her body back on his chest. "I've never asked a woman to move in with me before." Ziva smiled and began tracing circles on his chest.

"I am glad you asked me, Tony." She whispered. Automatically, they both looked at each other, getting lost in each one's eyes. Tony caressed her check as she moved into his body. He stroked her hair with his free hand and she tapped the back of his neck with her nails.

"Well, I'm glad you said yes, Zee-vah." Tony smiled. Ziva dove into him, placing a kiss on his mouth while Tony's hand snuck under her shirt…

* * *

><p>"Okay Abby, I think Evan gets it." McGee whispered, slightly nudging her arm before she went into detail in front of the twelve-year-old. Evan didn't seem to notice, he was to busy trying to absorb everything in his brain. He would've been lying if he said he wasn't confused.<p>

"What's so special about them mom and dad moving in together? They have always lived together." Evan asked.

"Not all the time, Evan." Gibbs said, reaching past Ziva's chair to place a hand on his shoulder. "When your dad asked your mom to move in with him, it showed how much he cared for her. And when your mom said yes, that showed how much she cared for him. They were very important to each other. It's a big step in a relationship to move in together."

"Excuse me." Abby mumbled, abruptly getting up from her chair and running into the bathroom. Her tears had come from no where. Evan frowned.

"You'll get it more when you're older, bud." Gibbs assured him. Evan nodded. They all waited around the table for Abby who returned a few minutes later. Her make up was smudged and her eyes were bloodshot. She sat down and felt Tim grab her hand and give it a light squeeze from under the table. Evan took in a deep breath to hold back _his own _tears, and then turned back to Ducky.

"What was the first dinner party like?" Evan asked. Ducky smiled.

"I think we better take a break before we get into that one, young lad."

* * *

><p><strong>Did you like it? Hate it? PLEASE review(: Thanks to <em>DS2010, Elin, pia, Robern, Shortsarcasm <em>and _deanmarty _(for reviewing every chapter).**

**-Sam**


	5. Chapter 5

Evan sat impatiently on the couch while everyone else was gathered in the kitchen. He knew they were all trying to be discrete, but he couldn't help but hear them. Evan was getting antsy and restless waiting for Ducky to return and begin telling him about the team's first dinner party. At first, Evan really tried hard not to listen. He knew what they were talking about, and he knew he didn't want to hear it. But when it came right down to it, Evan realized there was nothing better to do than eavesdrop.

"Did you talk with the lawyers yet, Jethro?" Ducky asked.

"Yeah, he wants to meet with me on Wednesday." Gibbs sighed.

"Tomorrow?" Abby exclaimed and then was hushed by her co-workers to prevent Evan from hearing, even though he was already listening.

"Yeah Abbs, tomorrow. Their lawyer says he's not even sure if I'm the legal guardian of Evan. He said they talked about their wills and filled some of it out, but never completely finished them before…" He drifted off. Evan felt a chill go through his spine; some how he knew Gibbs would be crying again and it didn't set easy in the pit of his stomach.

"Who would be Evan's legal guardian if it's not you?" Jimmy awkwardly stated. It was true, Gibbs was the closest to a father to Ziva and some what of Tony.

"Well we have Director David, and Tony's dad. It shouldn't be a problem, but I'm not sure." Gibbs said uneasily. Evan overheard the team all mumbled in agreement. Next, he heard footsteps signaling that the team was returning to him in the living room. They all sat down one by one looking as depressed and sad as ever. Gibbs sat next to Evan. The couch sank in and tipped Evan into Gibbs who immediately wrapped his arm around the boy. Evan didn't want to go and live with DiNozzo Sr. Sure, he had met him a few times and his grandpa always seemed like a nice guy, but never as nice and caring as Gibbs, who had always been more of a grandpa to him than Senior. Then there was his mom's father, who wasn't really talked about much. Evan saw his mom speak to him over the phone, but never spoke to him personally. The closest he ever got to his grandpa David was looking at pictures of him. In the end, Evan wanted to stay with Gibbs no matter what any lawyer said.

"Well Evan, are you ready?" Ducky asked, sitting next to Abby on the other side of the living room. Evan looked up at the M.D.

"Ready for what?" He asked.

"The story my boy!" Ducky laughed, which brought a smile to everyone's face. No one had seen Ducky laugh in the past few days. It was understandable. It probably wasn't easy doing _two _autopsies for _two _people he cared for deeply.

"Oh yeah, I guess I'm ready." In all his eavesdropping, Evan had completely forgotten about the reason he was waiting out in the living room for. They all got comfy in their seats, ready to hear Ducky's take on what happened during their first dinner party. Everyone, excluding Evan, had been there, even the autopsy gremlin.

"Okay then." Ducky started, smacking his hands together in a fist and leaning forward in his seat. "It was maybe two or so weeks since Anthony and Ziva had fully moved into Anthony's apartment…"

* * *

><p>Ziva ran around their house, picking up clothes from the floor, dusting any surfaces that was visible, and vacuuming every few minutes. Their plans had been so unexpected, so last minute. Maybe if they all had planned this yesterday, she would've cleaned up sooner. She turned around the corner when she ran into Tony.<p>

"Whoa there ninja." He smiled and took her shoulders. She looked stressed out of her mind, something Ziva David never looked like. "What's up with you?"

Ziva groaned and rolled her eyes at him. "Do you even care what the house looks like when they all get here?" She asked. It bugged the hell out of her that he wasn't as nervous as she was.

"Ziva, they're family. None of them will care." Tony said and kissed her forehead then checked the clock, "besides, we have an hour until they all get here and we don't eat until six-thirty so that gives _us_…"

"I forgot to put in the food!" Ziva suddenly exclaimed, breaking away from his grip and rushing off into the kitchen. She began boiling the water for her spaghetti noodles and grabbing all of the ingredients for her 'secret sauce' as Tony liked to call it. Once she had everything perfectly cooking, Ziva turned back towards to the living to go and see Tony again. Fortunately, he was already standing in the arch way, arms crossed and smiling.

"What?" Ziva asked, putting her hands to her hips and squinting at him.

"Nothing, I just never have seen you this worked up over anything before." He admitting, shrugging slightly. Ziva imitated him and crossed her arms as well, but said nothing. Tony wasn't surprised. He was starting into a conversation that would probably lead into _feelings _and _emotions_; Ziva was never one to talk about those types of things with him or _anyone _for that matter. Truthfully, neither was he but Tony DiNozzo was making a change, for _her_. "Are you scared?" He asked her, breaking the silence.

"_No_." She snapped. Tony always loved to her reaction whenever he asked her that. It was always the same answer, but the question would never get old.

"Nervous then?" He guessed walking towards her.

"A little." Ziva admitted, wrapping her arms around his waist when Tony had finally made his way over to her.

"Don't be. I told you, they're family. Everything will be _fine_." He assured her. Ziva gripped the back of his shirt tightly and found herself hugging him. They stood like that for a while. Tony stroked her hair as Ziva dug her face into his shirt, inhaling his aroma. As usual, Tony broke the silence _again_.

"Why are you so nervous Zi?" He asked, looking down at her face, which was dug into his shirt. As if one queue, Ziva looked up at him to meet his eyes.

"I am not sure. I guess, I never had a _family _dinner or party like this. I have never sat around a table with my _family _and just ate and talked. What if something goes wrong and the food tastes bad or…"

"Okay, I'm going to stop you right there." Tony interrupted, gently placing his finger on her lips. "First off, you food is superb!" Tony kissed the tips of his fingers and raised his hand up high, "Especially your spaghetti. I _am _Italian, ya know?" He winked at her, which made Ziva laugh a little. She loved that about Tony. He could do the littlest of actions, say the simplest of things, and bring a smile to her face. "Second, nothing is going to go wrong. And if something does, well then hell! Who cares?" He leaned down and tussled her hair.

"I care." Ziva sighed. "I want everything to be perfect for Gibbs, and for Abby and McGee, Ducky and Jimmy."

"Ziva." Tony said, taking her shoulders and looking even deeper into her eyes. He was seriously getting annoyed with her constant need to impress everyone. Tony guessed it had something to do with her father, but that was another story, for anther time. "It's just the team, our _family_. It'll be okay."

"You promise?" Ziva asked. There was a flirtatious tone behind her question; Tony noticed.

"I promise. And _this _DiNozzo does not break his promises." Tony assured her. They both leaned into each other as their lip collided with one, magical kiss. Tony pressed on her body, pushing her back into the kitchen wall. Ziva placed her hands on his chest as his fingers played with the ends of her hair. They both came up for air, but their lips never came together again. The two just stood staring into each of their eyes. Tony's hands were now tangled in her hair, while Ziva's fingers fiddled with the buttons on Tony's shirt.

"Like I was saying, there's still some time for _us_." Tony charmed, smiling.

* * *

><p>"So that's it?" Evan asked when Ducky had took a break to sip some of his drink. Evan guessed it was some sort of alcohol; Gibbs and Ducky talked about <em>scotch<em> a lot. Ducky shook his head rapidly as if finished his drink.

"Patience." Evan heard Gibbs whispered in his ear. The boy responded with a nod. Once Ducky finished and cleared his throat of few times, he spoke again.

"No, that is just the beginning of it my young boy." Ducky assured.

"Well, did everything go well?" Evan found himself asking. As long as he could remember, every Tuesday the whole team had gathered at their house to eat one of his mother's beautiful meals. Nothing ever went wrong on those nights.

"Not exactly." Ducky mumbled, looking around at his friends. They all exchanged glances, knowing exactly what went down that night. To be honest, _nothing _went _right _on that night. Evan felt Gibbs nudge him again and whisper, "Be patient Evan."

"I am." Evan whispered back at Gibbs. All he wanted to do was hear about his mom and listen to stories about his dad. He wanted to know more about them, even though they would never be in his life again. Mostly, Evan just wanted to keep their memory alive. He never wanted to forget his mom and dad. He didn't want the team to forget Tony and Ziva.

"I don't mind, Jethro." Ducky assured, overhearing Gibbs and Evan. "I'll continue..."

* * *

><p>The two acted like clock work. Ziva slipped into her dress while Tony zipped her zipper after pulling his dress shirt back on. Ziva turned to face him and re-did the buttons on the front of his shirt. She then rushed to the bathroom to fix up her hair while Tony re-made their bed. And just as everything was perfect and Tony and Ziva began to relax for just a few more minutes, they heard a hard knock at the door.<p>

"I got it." Tony said as Ziva got up from the couch. He gently pushed her back down to let her rest for the first time all night. Tony walked to the door, taking a quick glance through the peep hole. It was strange how they all showed up at the exact same time. Tony waved Ziva over as he opened the door and the team swarmed in.

"Oh guys, the apartment looks great!" Abby exclaimed as she walked in first.

"I smell something good." McGee walked in and peeped around the corner into the kitchen. Ziva smiled, but then quickly realized she had forgotten yet _another _piece of her meal and rushed back into the kitchen.

"Clam down McFlabby." Tony joked, patting Tim's stomach. "Ziva is still cooking." Tim shot a mean glare at his friend. The jokes would never get old, though McGee wouldn't admit it. He smacked Tony's hand away from his belly, which wasn't as big as Tony made it out to be.

"Be quiet Tony." He grumbled as Gibbs walked between them.

"Can we go one day without you two fighting?" Gibbs asked. The two both held out their fingers pointing at one another, acting more like kindergarteners, and at the same time both shouted, "He started it."

"Well I'm ending it." Gibbs snapped, smacking them both in the back of the head. Ziva came rushing back in, just in time to greet Jimmy with an awkward hug and Ducky, with a small peck on the cheek that made the old doctor blush slightly.

"I am so glad all of you could make it." Ziva smiled, trying to act casual. It sounded like something a hostess would say to her guests, though she wasn't completely sure. It wasn't like she did this everyday. Hell, this was her first time _ever _doing something like this. Sure, she had been to lots of dinner parties and gatherings, but was never a _hostess _for one. There were so many things that could go wrong. The team could get bored or not have fun or their dinner could be bad. Now, Ziva was making herself nervous. Just as she started walking back into the kitchen to check on her food that she just left not five minutes ago, she felt a tug on her arm. Ziva turned to Tony, who met her gaze as he whispered, "Everything is okay. They're _family_." And those words coming from his mouth one last time was all Ziva needed to return to her normal self again.

The rest of the night went fantastically. No one managed to get a word out at dinner since they were all too busy eating, Tony and McGee managed to have a few decant conversations without cracking jokes at each other every few seconds, and Ducky hardly ever told a story for more than ten minutes. It was basically a perfect night to start their week, since it was only Tuesday. Ziva was actually sad to say her goodbyes to everyone as their day became night and it was getting pretty late. She hugged each one of her friends as Tony shook hands and joked some more before the apartment was emptied.

"I told you everything would be fine." Tony bragged as he wrapped his arms around Ziva's waist after finally pushing Abby out the door. Ziva laughed a little while hugging him tightly.

"I told you." Tony repeated, expecting Ziva to respond this time.

"Do you want me to give a pat on the back, DiNozzo?" Ziva asked, jokingly.

"Well, a kiss would be nice?" Tony compromised. Her soft lips finally met his for a moment until Ziva abruptly pulled away.

"Do you smell that?" She asked.

"Smell what?" Tony asked, as Ziva looked around the room frantically. "Are your ninja scenes tingling?" He joked.

"Tony, I am serious. You do not smell that?" He could tell she was being serious. Tony sniffed the air and realized what Ziva was talking about. His first instinct was to run to the kitchen. Ziva followed him. They were both greeted by a large flame in gulping their stove. The room _had _seemed hotter.

"Shit!" Tony yelled and grabbed Ziva's hand tightly. He began rushing her out of the apartment.

"Wait Tony! We have to call 9-1-1. They have to evacuate the building." Ziva acknowledged, pulling back on his grip and towards her cell phone sitting on the counter.

"We don't have time Ziva." Tony snapped, taking her arm and pushing her out the door. Ziva glared at Tony as he pulled her down the hallway and towards the stairs.

"Fire!" Ziva suddenly yelled, "There's a fire!" Tony whipped his back towards her. "I had to do something!" Ziva said, noticing his look.

"I was just going to tell you it was a good idea." Tony said back, still pulling them both towards the stairs. Now their neighbors began rushing out of their apartments and following their lead. Soon, the whole building was evacuated and all the residents were left standing outside in the Washington D.C. cold.

Ziva found herself shaking. She wasn't cold from the air; Tony had gladly taken care of that by comfortably wrapping his arms around her body. She wasn't scared either. Fires weren't the scariest things she had ever seen. Between her work at NCIS and from being in Mossad, Ziva had seen much worse. She soon realized she was shaking out of anger. If it wasn't for the stupid fire, the night would have gone _perfectly_. Now, she was standing out in the cold with Tony and the rest of the team, who hadn't even gotten a chance to leave before the fire broke out.

"Excuse me sir, was it your apartment that had the fire?" Ziva felt Tony's grip on her loosen as he turned around to face the fire Marshall standing before him.

"Yes sir." Tony said holding out his hand which the Marshall shook. "Tony."

"Dave." He responded. "There was a small gas leak coming from your stove that started the fire. The good news is that you called in time for us to save your apartment. Your kitchen may need some work, but after we clear out you should be able to sleep in your home tonight."

Ziva and the rest of the team gathered around Dave as he spoke to Tony, nodding as he talked like they all lived in the apartment. Dave wrote down a few things and gave his information to Tony then walked back to his truck. Soon, all the residents were pouring back into the building as the fire trucks, police cars, and ambulances began to leave the area.

"Looks like we won't need that extra room, Ducky." Tony assured, placing his hand on the doctor's shoulder.

"But thank you for the offer." Ziva quickly added in. And once again, they were all saying their goodbyes. This time, Gibbs was the last one to leave. He walked the pair to their door. Tony shook his boss' hand before walking into their small home. Ziva began to follow until Gibbs grabbed her arm and pulled her in for a hug. She embraced him, holding her father-like figure tightly as he placed a small kiss on her forehead.

"It was a beautiful meal and a perfect night, Ziver." Gibbs whispered before leaving her to her and Tony's burned apartment. Ziva slowly shut the door and met Tony in the kitchen. The stove was certainly gone, burned completely. The fire had managed to sneak its way around most of their counter space and partially to the fridge.

"He wasn't kidding when he said the kitchen is going to need work." Tony mumbled as he picked up some ash and smashed it between his two fingers.

"What ever happened to, 'everything will be _fine_.'" Ziva mocked. Tony turned to her. Ziva was standing in the door way, arms crossed, but with no sarcastic smile he expected to see on her lips.

"Everything _will _be." He assured her, yet again.

"Our kitchen is ruined. You and I both know we cannot possibly afford a whole new kitchen _now_. And I am not working at the office for any more hours than I have to…" Tony silenced her with his lips. She kissed him back gently, her hands self consciously heading up towards his hair as Tony's messed with the zipper on the back of her dress.

"You're rambling on like Abby." Tony mumbled between kisses. Ziva punched him gently in the chest as a smile finally formed on her lips.

* * *

><p>Evan took forever to say goodbye to the team. He didn't want them to go. Sure, he had Gibbs, but having the team all eating together again made it seem like Tony and Ziva were still around, maybe just in a different room. But now, Gibbs was pushing everyone out the door and leading Evan into his room.<p>

"You know I can put myself to bed, Gibbs." Evan assured him as they walked into his room, still filled with boxes. Evan really needed to get un-packing, but Gibbs understood the heart ache that would come with finally taking his things out of those boxes.

"I know bud; I just didn't want you to be alone." Gibbs admitted, messing up Evan's hair a little, smiling at the confidence from him. Evan took after them _too _much.

"Alone time could do me and _you _some good." Evan sighed. Gibbs' smile grew even bigger as he leaned down to hug the boy. As he shut the door after saying goodnight, Gibbs found himself crying a bit. Tony and Ziva had raised him well, a little _too _well.

* * *

><p><strong>Is there any specific moments you want me to highlight in TonyZiva relationship? Drop a review, tell me if you liked this chapter or not and tell me what you want to see in the next few chapters(: THANKS A BUNCH to everyone who reviewed last chapter, it means so much! **

**-Sam**


	6. Chapter 6

He never just _went to bed _anymore. Usually he would cry himself to sleep, or go to bed clutching their picture, or go on some crazy rampage on why it _had _to be _them _before finally just drifting off into unconsciousness. Tonight, however, was different. Evan still didn't just go to bed like any other _normal_ kid, but sat motionless on his bed, staring at all the moving boxes filling his room. Gibbs had told him to go to bed, but Evan knew the time to unpack was now; he didn't have time to close his eyes.

First, he was tried of being in his clothes. Evan quickly undressed himself from his jeans and shirt that his mom had bought him last year. He walked around in his boxers, trying to find the box that held his pajamas. Evan tore opened about a half a dozen boxes, crying a little more every time he saw items that were formally in his old bedroom, before finding some pajama bottoms. He slipped them on. Evan didn't bother to put on a shirt; he was already sweating from all the crying he was doing.

He grabbed the first box he saw and ripped it open, ready for the pain he was about to feel. Evan lifted his baseball mitt and clutched the foul ball. He remembered his dad catching it. He, his dad, and McGee had gone to _RFK Stadium _to watch the _Washington Nationals _play when the foul ball was hit towards them. Tony wasted no time catching the ball and handing it over to his son, who was only ten at the time. Evan placed the glove and ball on a shelf Gibbs had gladly made for him. He found himself laughing while remembering him and his dad coming home to his mom.

_Evan showed the ball off while his dad and mom exchanged words to each other, bringing smiles to both of their faces._

He remembered hearing their words.

"_I told you. Every American loves baseball." Tony whispered._

"_We _are_ living the American Dream, Tony." Ziva whispered back._

His laughs soon turned into tears as Evan unpacked the football his dad and him used to throw around and the baseball bat his mom had bought for him for his birthday last year. All his sports trophies went on his shelf, along with the bat, baseball and mitt, and football. The tears were blurring his vision, and Evan began to feel dizzy as he finished unpacking the first box of many. He tried to hold himself together and remain clam, but his sobs became uncontrollable as he threw the empty box out of his room. Evan didn't realize he slammed the door until it hit the frame with a loud _boom_. He jumped for his bed, digging his face into his pillow.

Evan knew he had woken up Gibbs when he heard a loud knock on his door over his own equally loud sobs. He felt some one enter the room and sit at the end of the bed. A hand rubbed up and down his back, trying to calm him. Evan didn't have to look up from his pillow to know it was Gibbs.

"I can't live without them." Evan managed to cry out in between loud sobs and violent tears pouring down his face that were sinking into his pillow.

"You're a brave boy, Evan. No one should have to go through what you are going through now." Gibbs whispered, but he wasn't sure whether he had heard him or not. Evan's cries were too loud, and Gibbs' voice had been too quiet. Evan continued either way.

"They couldn't be teachers, or doctors, or have normal jobs like everyone else's parents. They just had to be cops, _Federal Agents_. My parents had to be the ones to risk their _lives _everyday…" Evan lifted his head up from the pillow and locked eyes with Gibbs, his new guardian, his new parent, his new world.

Gibbs noticed his bright, greens eyes blood shot from tears. Evan's dark brown hair, similar to Ziva's, was a mess. He stared at his two very _best _agents' child for a long time. Gibbs opened his mouth to say something. For the first time in his life, Leroy Jethro Gibbs didn't know what to say, he didn't even know where to begin. Gibbs thought all the stories of his mom and dad had been helping Evan cope, helping him get through this hell he had been forced to face. Obviously, Gibbs had been _wrong_. He should've known better, he was a trained investigator. He should've known a twelve-year-old boy wasn't just going to get over both of his parents death with just _stories_. He sure as hell knew stories didn't help him get over Shannon and Kelly, so why did he think Evan would be any different?

"You don't have to say anything; it is fine if you don't know what to say." Evan said, noticing Gibbs' jaw still barely opened ready to give him sympathy. Evan had calmed down from before. No longer did tears poor down his face and his eyes were restoring back to their normal green color. "Don't you ever get scared when you go out in the field?" Evan found himself asking. At least this was a question Gibbs knew the answer to.

"At first, it was pretty scary. When you're in field, something takes you over and you just, go." Gibbs started, trying to explain the adrenaline rush as well as he could. There was really no better to explain it, unless you experienced yourself. Gibbs decided to discuss it differently. "The thought that you're saving people's lives and protecting people is worth it to me, and it was worth it to your parents too. They were two of the most loyal and brave people I am glad to say I knew. You should be proud of them, Evan. Their job was a big part of each of them, and not everyone would risk their lives everyday for complete strangers." The words just poured out of the silver hair fox's mouth. Knowing exactly what to say felt good.

"I was proud of them, I still am." Evan used his arm to wipe away one, small tear that had trickled down his cheek while Gibbs was talking. "I just don't understand why anyone would want to put their life at risk for people they don't even know when they have a family at home." Evan pulled his knees up to his chest and hugged himself tightly. Gibbs put his arm around Evan's shoulder and pulled him in for an awkward hug. "Do you think they thought about me when their lives were put on the line? Did they ever think about what would happen to me if they were both to die one day?" Now, Evan was holding back even more tears. He didn't want to cry again. He was tired of crying.

"They both loved you very much. Trust me when I tell you that they thought about you _everyday_." Gibbs assured. Evan remained quiet lost in his thoughts. Gibbs knew he should start saying something again. Something to make the boy that was cradled in his arms, feel better. Gibbs would try, but he wasn't very good with stories, or talking.

"Did they ever tell you about the first time they went into the field while they were _dating_?" Gibbs asking, laughing a little. Evan shifted in Gibbs' arms and looked up at his face. It was stiff, but the small smile that formed on the corner of his lips told otherwise.

"No, they never said anything about that." Evan whispered, realizing how many things his mom and dad had forgotten to mention to him. "Will you tell me about it?"

"Yeah, sure." Gibbs agreed half-heartedly, even though he walked himself right into this story.

* * *

><p>Their black car pulled up to the house, surrounded by ambulances, fire trucks, and Virginia State Police cars. There were even TV van's pulled up to the crime scene trying to get the latest scoop for the six o'clock news. The whole neighborhood seemed to be out and about, and police officers were trying to hold back large crowds of kids trying to get a glance at the body. Ducky and Palmer had called to say they were going to be a little late from a matter of them getting lost, again. But even with the M.E. van missing, the dead Navy officer's house still was a lot more crowed than any other usual crime scene.<p>

"What's the deal with all the people?" Tim asked as they all stepped out of the car. The whole scene was really a fiasco from all the neighbors, officers, fire fighters, _everyone_. Never had the team had such a turn out for a crime scene.

"Wow." Tony said as he saw the huge crowd. "Whose the dead officer again, boss?" Tony asked, looking over at his boss who instantly became in a worse mood than before once he got wind that the press was here.

"Navy Officer Victor Franks." Gibbs mumbled, slamming his car door shut and storming off into the house that was now a crime scene, and away from the people, or more like the reporters.

"Wait; did he just say Victor Franks?" McGee asked, looking over towards Ziva and Tony who were getting out their cameras and note pads, ready for questions and snapshots.

"Yes." Ziva confirmed, heading over towards the State Police to get a report before hearing what McGee was going to say.

"Victor Franks." Tony scowled, before McGee got to a chance to continue. "I don't trust anyone with _two _first names." He turned to McGee, who looked annoyed with him already.

"Victor Franks is a famous book writer." Tim gladly informed. "He's very well known in the book world."

"Oh _really_ Mr. Gemcity." Tony laughed, grabbing his camera as him and Tim followed their boss. "Do tell."

"What's left to tell?" Tim asked, "He's a famous writer. Mostly writes about his experiences in the Navy and stuff. I've only ever heard about him."

"Well that explains all the people." Tony mumbled as they walked into the crime scene to find the dead book writer lying on his living room floor, bullet wound to the head. The two agents both began snapping pictures when the autopsy two arrived, fashionably late as always.

"Mr. Palmer, do get the gurney. It's pretty obvious what killed this young man." Ducky acknowledged as he leaned over the body, inspecting the bullet wound in the middle of the Frank's forehead. "This man looks oddly familiar." Ducky pondered.

"He's a famous book writer according to McKnow-it-all over here." Tony said, before Tim got a chance to explain himself.

"That explains the reporters." They all heard Gibbs mumble from the corner where he investigated. They all nodded in agreement. Reporters or the press weren't one of NCIS' favorite things to deal with during a crime scene. After a few more moments of discussing the scene, establishing the time of death which was barely an hour ago, and taking a few more pictures, Jimmy returned with the gurney.

"Tony." Palmer announced, "Ziva needs you out there."

Tony smiled at the Gremlin as he happily walked outside towards his beautiful partner, who looked rather stunning against the bright sun, or was that the bright flashes coming from all the cameras? Tony tapped her on the shoulder. Ziva turned around to see him; unfortunately, she wasn't smiling like he'd expect.

"These men are driving me up a _hall_." Ziva snapped as she motioned towards the two _male_ cops and the three _male _reporters she had obviously been dealing with.

"_Wall_." Tony self-consciously corrected. "Excuse me, is there a problem here?" Tony gently pushed past Ziva, who headed back towards the house not able to deal with any more people than she already had too. The men, who were all in a deep conversation, looked up from each other and to Tony.

"No, not really." One of them answered.

"We were just asking Agent David some questions."

"Where'd she go anyways?"

Tony let out a loud laugh now putting everything together. They had been hitting on her. "Oh, I see." Tony began, trying not to brag. "She's probably not interested." He informed them in a hushed tone like it was some sort of secret. "She's already taken." All five of the men nodded in enlightenment.

"I knew no single woman would ever be able to resist me." Tony heard one of them say as they all began laughing. Tony let out a small smile and started back for the house to go find Ziva again, but she was already walking towards him. He met her halfway.

"Gibbs says Ducky's TOD wasn't that long ago and wants us to go and search around the area for any suspects." Ziva said, handing him his gun and taking off her crime scene cap, stuffing it in Tony's backpack. He did the same.

"You know this is our first crime scene as an _official _couple." Tony joked as they threw their stuff in the car.

Ziva let out a small, oddly girly, laugh as she grabbed his hand. "My house tonight?" She asked when Tony nodded in agreement.

"Did he say exactly who we were looking for?" Tony asked while they walked towards the large crowd of people and where all the _flirtatious_ men were waiting.

"No." Ziva said, clutching Tony's hand as they walked past the men that had been hitting on her earlier. She turned back to flash them a small smile as Tony pulled her through the people, not noticing anything but his hand in Ziva's. She was glad to have Tony hear with her, even if all these people weren't here. They weren't just partners anymore, and that thought always brought a smile onto Ziva's face.

"I don't know who he expects us to find with all these people…"

"Look to your right, brown hoodie and dark glasses." Ziva suggested, casually looking from the men over to the stranger. Tony looked over too. The suspect lifted his head and noticed the not so sneaky Special Agent steal a glance at him.

"I think he saw me." Tony whispered. They both watched the brown hooded man pull something out from his pocket. He was a couple yards away, but it was obvious what he was clutching in his hand.

"Gun!" Ziva shouted as she drew her weapon and began swerving through the crowds of people. She tried to keep her eyes locked on the suspect, but she was also being pushed and shoved by reporters and innocent bystanders. Ziva managed to keep a decent look on him, but wondered if Tony was still behind her. She didn't dare look back to check if he was and loose eyes on the suspect. But that soon ended when Ziva felt a tug on her arm and automatically looked back to see who needed her.

"Hey, I was wondering if you wanted to go for a drink tonight." It was one of the men from before. Obviously he hadn't gotten the hint. Ziva tried to ignore him and check back on the suspect, but she had lost him in the crowd.

"Agent David." The man spoke again. Ziva whipped her head around to look at him.

"What?" She snapped. Didn't he see her gun drawn? Didn't he get the picture that she was working? Didn't he see her grabbing Tony's hand? Didn't he get the hint that she wasn't single?

"How about that drink?" He asked again.

"No thank you." Ziva said, trying to walk away and chase after the suspect, but yet again, he tugged on her arm.

"No, please. I insist."

"I am actually not available." She tried to explain.

"What about tomorrow?"

"No, I mean…"

There was a loud gun shot that filled the air. The crowd of people all began screaming and running in completely different directions, shoving and pushing Ziva until she finally fell down. People stepped over her as she put her gun back into her belt so it wouldn't accidently go off. She started crawling on the sidewalk, trying to get through all of the people, when she noticed an oddly familiar body lying, bleeding, on the ground.

Ziva jumped to her feet and began pushing through people while screaming his name. When she finally reached his body, she noticed his upper thigh bleeding badly, probably from a gun shot delivered by the man in the hoodie. "Tony." She whispered, taking off her jacket and holding it over the wound. He was breathing hard, but he managed to keep his eyes open. Tony focused on her voice when she called in for help repeating, "Officer down, Officer down." But her words soon became like a soft lullaby and he felt sleepy.

"Tony, you have to stay with me." Ziva yelled, slapping his face lightly which brought his eyes back to life. Screams were still coming from everywhere but all Tony heard was Ziva's voice echo through his brain. "Stay with me Tony." She pressed down on her jacket; whish was now stained with Tony's blood. She noticed him wince in pain when she tried to slow the bleeding, but Ziva didn't let up on the pressure. Ziva would go to hell and back to make sure Tony DiNozzo did not bleed out on a sidewalk in front of a crime scene. If that caused him a little bit of pain, so be it. Ziva didn't care. She wanted him to live, not die.

Now the crowd was clearing from panic bystanders hearing the gun go off. Ziva could clearly see the victim's house and Gibbs and Tim running rapidly towards them.

"Call EMS." Gibbs shouted over to McGee while they were still both running.

"I already did, Gibbs." Ziva informed, applying even more pressure to Tony's leg, keeping her eyes locked on his.

"I don't care, call them again." Gibbs said, rushing to their side and switching places with Ziva. "Stay in there DiNozzo."

"Sure thing, boss." Tony groaned. Ziva crawled over to his side and squeezed his hand. They kept their eyes locked on each other until Tony's started fluttering shut.

"Tony!" McGee was now yelling, just hanging up with Emergency Medical Service. Ziva gently slapped his cheek a couple more times, but it was no use. Tony passed out just as the ambulance arrived.

* * *

><p>"Dad has gotten shot before…this?" Evan asked, chocking on his last words. Gibbs tried to ignore it, but he would've been lying if he had said his heart hurt a little once those words left Evan's lips.<p>

"So had your mom." It felt terrible using their names in past tense.

"When was this?" Evan asked, clutching his knees while Gibbs still had his arm wrapped around his shoulder. Evan crawled out of his grip to grab a blanket, now regretting not finding a shirt to wear to bed.

"This happened way before you were born. I don't even think they were moved in together yet." Gibbs informed. He knew Evan wanted to know if they ever thought about _him _when they were in the field. Jethro Gibbs sighed a little; now realizing this boy didn't want to hear about his parents getting hurt, but about what they did when they were in the field, or mostly what they _thought _about.

Gibbs wasn't lying when he had told Evan that Tony and Ziva thought about him _everyday_, whether it was out in the field or in the office. But he had screwed up. Gibbs had told the wrong story for the occasion. He looked down at Evan, seeing disappointment. And now Evan was paying the price. Gibbs pondered on the thought and wondered if he should start a story that Evan actually wanted to hear.

But Evan looked up at him, seeing failure in his eyes and knowing why. Sure, this wasn't a story Evan was really found of hearing, but Gibbs was trying his best. He wasn't really one to talk, _at all_, so it really meant a lot to him when Gibbs started telling. Evan wanted to say something to make him fell better, to let Gibbs know he was okay and that he was allowed to continue. "Well, what happened to dad after that?"

* * *

><p>Ziva sat alone in the hospital room, watching Tony lay on the hospital bed. He was unconscious; not from the bullet wound but from the drugs the doctor had given him after surgery. He would be on crutches for a couple of weeks, which Tony wouldn't be happy about. But to Ziva, it was better than having him on crutches than not at all.<p>

She hadn't even realized he had gone past her. Ziva thought he had been right behind her before she turned around to see that jerk of a man trying to ask her out for drinks, even though she had declined countless times. She tried to think back to when he passed her, but there were just way too many people. The crime scene Tony gets shot just happened to be the crime scene with the most people; and their first crime scene as a couple, according to Tony.

Ziva heard him moan and admittedly approached the bed to be at his side. His eyes slowly opened. When he saw her, a smile formed on his lips. "Hey."

"How are you feeling?" Ziva asked.

"I'm feeling golden." Tony said, trying to act like nothing was hurting. Truthfully, he didn't feel any pain, but he knew that were the pain killers kicking in.

"I am sure." Ziva laughed, not falling for any of his lies. He smiled back at her and tried to sit up, but Ziva pushed him down. "The doctor says he wants you to rest." She informed when he grabbed her waist and pulled her body down with him. She let out another girly laugh as her body toppled over his. Ziva made sure her legs didn't accidently bump his bad one.

"I don't need to rest." Tony argued, placing a small kiss on her lips, still holding her waist. He had missed the feel of her lips against his and knowing that her body was resting nicely in his grasp.

"Yes, you do." Ziva whispered, pulling herself away from his grip and placing another kiss on his check. "Even you need rest after a bullet to the leg."

"Me? Anthony DiNozzo? I don't think so." Tony joked.

"Let me guess." Ziva pondered, "_DiNozzos do not rest_." She mocked.

"Now you're getting it." That made her laugh. Ziva's phone went off and she quickly checked her newest text.

"Abby and the team are here. I am going to go down and meet them." Ziva explained, getting more serious and heading for the door.

"Hey Zee-vah." Tony called after her. She stopped and took an extra look back at him. "Are we still on for dinner tonight?"

"Of course." She smiled.

"One hell of a first crime scene as a couple. right?" Tony laughed.

"I would not have had it any other way." Ziva smiled. When he saw her lips crease up, he felt the corners of his mouth smile too.

"It wouldn't of been _our_ first crime scene if I hadn't gotten shot."

"Better us than some one who did not sign up for it." Ziva said, quoting him. She left his room after locking eyes with him one last time. Ziva began walking towards the lobby thinking about Tony being on crutches for the next few weeks. He would hate it and probably annoy her completely with all his complaints, but she wouldn't care. Because Tony would be alive, maybe injured, but still alive and breathing and in one piece and not on an autopsy table, cold and gone forever.

* * *

><p><strong>I know Gibbs ALWAYS knows what to say, especially when it comes to kids, and never says the wrong thing, but we're talking about Tony and Ziva's death here, he's just as hurt and sad and confused as everyone else, so sorry if any of you thought he was a bit out of character. I want to let everyone know that I will be explaining how they died in later chapters, most likely at the end. <strong>

**-Sam**


	7. Chapter 7

Yup, their first crime scene as a couple really wasn't a good story to tell. Gibbs felt a horrible pain in the pit of his stomach when he finished speaking and left Evan crying, silently in his arms. Gibbs felt, horrible. He knew he should've stopped, he really didn't know why he did continue. Once he spoke the last few words, the last few sentences of his story, Gibbs new it would leave Evan with water in his eyes, and dried up tears glistening down his cheeks. He didn't blame the boy; he _was _talking about his dad being in a hospital, and his mom thinking about Tony coming close to death. And now that they were both gone…

That didn't matter now. Either way, he had made the wrong decision, something he had been doing a lot more lately since their deaths.

Now, Gibbs was left sitting in his room, holding the boy he had made cry, feeling horrible for Evan and feeling terrible about himself.

Evan glanced up at Gibbs quickly, seeing that same, stiffened face of failure he had seen before. Evan realized his tears were making his new guardian feel bad, but he just couldn't help it. The way Gibbs talked about his dad and his mom being together, risking their lives for each other and for complete strangers, his dad being shot; it was just too much for one story.

"It's not you." Evan whispered. Gibbs turned to him, not knowing exactly what he was saying. Evan always had his own way with words that no one could ever fully understand. It reminded Gibbs a lot of Tony.

"What?" Gibbs whispered back, tussling his hair to relieve some tension that had recently swarmed up between the two.

"This," Evan motioned around Gibbs' body, "is not you. You are not acting like yourself."

Gibbs sighed, nodding in agreement. "I'm sorry bud. I don't think a lot of the people you know are going to be acting like themselves for the next few days." He spoke the truth hesitantly, still unsure of how stable or unstable Evan was at the moment. Fortunately, he took Gibbs' words well.

"Do you think anyone will be the same ever again?" Evan asked, playing with the end of his blanket and occasionally glanced at their family portrait on his bed side table.

Gibbs looked down to him, but Evan's eyes weren't locked back on him like they were before. His eyes were locked on the DiNozzo family portrait sitting nicely on Evan's bedside table. Gibbs studied the picture.

Evan was happily sitting in the middle, smiling a smile that Gibbs hadn't seen in the past few days. Tony was sitting on his left, flashing that DiNozzo smile that everyone, especially the women, always talked about. Ziva sat in the right, smiling slightly, but enough that Gibbs could tell she was happy. Ziva never really was one to smile, for pictures at least. Gibbs could remember plenty of times he had seen her smile, mostly because of Tony, that's for sure. "Evan," Gibbs spoke. Evan responded by looking back at him again.

"Yeah?" He asked, forgetting about his question and snapping back into reality that his parents weren't part of anymore.

"You asked if I thought anybody will ever be the same." Gibbs repeated and Evan nodded. "Do you want to hear the truth?"

"I want the truth." Evan whispered, knowing exactly what he was going to hear.

Gibbs nodded. "No, I don't think anyone will be the same after this, Evan. Tony and Ziva…your mom and dad were two of the most loved and most loyal people at NCIS. They were family." Gibbs stumbled over his sentences and chocked on his words.

_Family_.

Gibbs hadn't realized how strong that word really was until now. "They were family. _Our _family. Families don't take deaths to well, Evan." Gibbs sighed, remembering Shannon and Kelly. But now, it wasn't just Gibbs' family that had been stolen away from the world, it had been Abby's family, McGee's family, Ducky and Palmer's family, and most important, it was Evan's family.

"I want another story." Evan said, coughing a little. He had gained more confidence in Gibbs' story telling abilities now, and all Evan needed right now was a memory about his mom and dad. He knew if Gibbs' were to tell a story, good or bad, he would start to cry _again_. Evan hated how many times he had broken down in the past few hours. It was unusual for him, and he didn't like unusual. But he was willing to shed a few to tears to hear Gibbs talk about them again.

"It's getting late. I have to get up early…" Gibbs cut himself off, knowing better not to mention lawyer and how they were going to be meeting about Evan's _legal _guardian. Gibbs was sure it wasn't going to be a problem, but the presence of a lawyer told him otherwise. Gibbs never was a fan of lawyers.

"Please Gibbs, one more. About them when I was born." Evan pleaded.

"We would be skipping ahead a couple years. Are you sure it won't get confusing?" Gibbs asked.

"Of course not. We can go back to before I was born tomorrow." Evan decided and Gibbs nodded in agreement.

"Well let's see," Gibbs took a second to think. "I got just the story for you, Evan. And I promise this one will be better than the last."

* * *

><p>Gibbs looked up from his coffee and paper to see the two agents, walking in slowly from the elevators and slouching down in their chairs.<p>

Tony looked exhausted. The circles under his eyes told stories of baby Evan crying in the middle of the night, screaming at the top of his lungs that he was ready to be fed or changed, even though it wasn't even close till morning yet. The senior field agent's eyes were slowly closing and opening up from lack of sleep and he moaned whenever the lights got in his eyes _just right_. Tony ended up putting his head down on his desk to maybe catch a few minutes of extra sleep. The office sure wasn't quiet, but he sure beat his apartment with the baby crying all night.

Ziva looked more worried than anything. Usually, a worried look on Ziva would've been strange and cause for alarm, but not since she became a mother. It was like something inside of her switched on, and she instantly became stressed and scared, mostly for her baby boy though. Ziva never got nervous during field work or anything that didn't have to do with Evan. But today, she seemed a little more off. Gibbs didn't know whether it was from lack of sleep or whether something serious was actually wrong. Before he got a chance to ask, McGee spoke up from across the bullpen.

"Welcome back!" He cheered, a little too loud for Tony's ears. Tony moaned loudly from his desk, but Tim managed to ignore him. "Tired?"

Everyone in the squad room, even Gibbs, shot a look of death over at McGee. They all knew how it was to have a week old baby in the house.

"Dammit McObvious, of course we're tired!" Tony shouted, looking up from his desk only to yell at the junior agent, and then slamming it back down because the lights were too bright for his sleepy eyes.

"Yes, McGee. Tony and I are both tired." Ziva stated, trying to sound a bit nicer than Tony but could agree that it was a stupid question. She then went back to staring at the elevator with that worried look pasted across her face. McGee slid lower in his chair and went back to typing when he realized even Gibbs looked annoyed with him.

"Ziver." Gibbs said to get her attention, "You feel alright."

"Oh please, boss. Let's not start this!" Tony groaned. Any other day he would've been afraid to talk to Gibbs like that, but not on his first day back since Evan had been born.

"Oh shut up Tony." Ziva snapped, tired as well. It was obvious they were on each other's last nerves. "I am allowed to be worried."

"You are Ziva. You're not _supposed _to be worried." He said, looking up only for her. "I'm Tony. _I _am the one that is supposed to be worried."

"_Mothers_ are supposed to be worried." Ziva corrected.

"Not over stupid stuff like this." Tony mumbled, locking eyes with her. It was strange how when their eyes met, even when they were arguing, everyone around them could feel a spark. They were powerful like that, or their love was.

* * *

><p>"Don't get to sappy on me." Evan managed to laugh, interrupting Gibbs only for a second.<p>

"Sorry bud." Gibbs smiled, taking a look down at the boy. His eyes were getting droopy and Gibbs could feel his body going limp in his arms. Evan had been through a lot today. First Gibbs had took him to NCIS, then they all had dinner, and now it was certainly past his regular bed time, a couple hours actually, and Evan had been doing a lot crying. He was probably tired out of his mind.

"How about we go to bed and I'll finish up tomorrow morning." Gibbs said, rolling Evan's body over to his pillow and blankets.

"No." Evan managed to spit out, "You have to get up early for the lawyer."

Gibbs hadn't realized Evan had overheard them talking in the kitchen, but didn't mind. He let out a small smile. Evan was just as sneaky as his mother. He struggled to keep his eyes open.

"Okay, I'm going to hurry though. You look exhausted."

* * *

><p>"What are you so worried about, Ziva?" McGee asked, feeling a little more confident in his second question than the first.<p>

"Please, McGee. We really don't need to get into _this _conversation…" Tony started, but Ziva cut him off. She broke eye contact with him to look over at Tim. She was glad he had asked. Ziva was certain McGee would find her worries more concerning than Tony.

"Well today is my first day away from Evan since he was born." Ziva tried explaining, but Tony was talking over her.

"It's _our _first time being away from him. You don't see _me _worried!"

"I told you it's different for a mother!" Ziva snapped, looking back at him with a snarl on her face.

"You've been reading too much of those parenting books Abby gave you." Tony glared back her, ready for the argument. It seemed they had been having little spats like this a lot more now that they weren't getting their full seven or eight hours of sleep anymore. Hell, Tony would kill for even five hours of sleep as of now.

"At least I did read the books. All you did was watch _Baby Mama_ for the whole week."

"I watched that movie for maybe ten minutes!" Tony corrected. Ziva sighed loudly and rolled her eyes big, so it was obvious to her partner that she was annoyed and pretty pissed off.

"You watched it _everyday _since we got home from the hospital." Ziva yelled.

"I watched ten minutes of it!" Tony insisted, "I didn't have time to watch the rest of it because Evan was too busy crying and _you _were too busy telling me what to do for me to have had any time at all to myself!"

Ziva slammed her palms on the desk, making everyone around them jump. "I have not had anytime to myself either, Tony!"

McGee and Gibbs watched the two argue across the squad room in amazement. The two really were tired out of their minds. Not even six-teen hour work days and huge stacks of paper work had put Tony and Ziva in this bad of a mood; had made them this tired. It was expected, though. It was expected out of all new parents.

"You know what, Tony! I am allowed to be worried about our child! It is the first time we have left him alone!" Ziva yelled.

"You're overreacting completely!" Tony argued back.

"You are overacting about how I am acting!" Ziva explained, confusing herself a little as well as Tony. Gibbs and McGee got it just fine, but they weren't running on a few hours of sleep, if not less.

"I am sure Evan is just fine with the sitter!"

"You cannot be sure of that!"

"Hey!" Gibbs found himself yelling, standing between the bickering couple. "Would you two cut it out?" He snapped, looking from Tony to Ziva. Their faces were getting a little pink from all their arguing. Gibbs breathed in deep as the two went silent, catching their breath as well. Their boss stood between them for a while, thinking on what he should do with them next.

Sending them back home wouldn't any good. If they wanted to catch up on some sleep there, Evan would still manage to keep them awake some how. Besides; Ziva _and _Tony needed to learn how to be without their little boy and to learn how to leave him every once in a while.

There was really only one other option besides giving them both the day off, which Gibbs refused to do. He motioned Tony and Ziva to follow him as Gibbs started off towards the elevator.

The pair followed slowly, knowing they were in for some major head slapping once the elevator doors shut. But once the doors closed and Gibbs smashed the button that headed for Abby's lab, no one said a thing.

Ziva tried to enjoy the quiet for a moment. She closed her eyes and breathed in deep. Ziva imagined herself in bed, sleeping soundlessly without any interruptions like a week old child. She must've actually been falling asleep because Tony nudged her slightly.

"Hey." He whispered. Ziva's eye shot open surprised that she had dozed off for a few seconds. "Sorry Ziva, but you were falling a little."

Ziva looked down and realized Tony had grabbed her arm and was slightly pushing her upwards again. She repositioned herself to stand up straight and tried to keep her eyes opened for the rest of the elevator ride.

Gibbs managed to let out a small laugh. "You two really are exhausted."

"Got any suggestions, boss?" Tony asked, knowing he had already gone through this once. He would have one or two tips for maybe catching a few extra minutes of sleep each night.

"Just coffee." Gibbs said, holding up his cup and sipping it slightly. Ziva let out one of her obnoxious, short laughs when Tony gagged at the word _coffee_.

"Anything but _your_ coffee." Tony mumbled, expecting to feel a hard slap on the back of his head. He never felt it.

"You're lucky it's your first day back, DiNozzo." Gibbs lectured as the elevator _dinged _quietly and the doors opened, welcoming the three into the small hallway leading to Abby's lab. They could already hear the music blaring. Tony and Ziva winced at the loud sound, both having slight head aches from Evan, and from each other.

Gibbs walked in front of them yelling, "Abs, do you think you could turn the music down?" The partners walked into the room once they heard the music return to a lower volume. Abby jumped up and squealed when she saw them. She ran to both of them, squeezing them both with a hug and a smile.

"Welcome back! How are you feeling?" She asked; happily awake from the Caf-Pow! on her desk.

"Tired." Both Tony and Ziva responded at the same time. Abby looked over at Gibbs who was calmly sipping his coffee.

"Is that why you brought them down here?" Abby asked, smiling. Gibbs nodded. They always did have the type of relationship where they could read each other's minds. Tony and Ziva exchanged looks, confused looks. Abby took each of their hands and began dragging them into her office. She stood on her tip-toes to reach the few blankets that were placed on the top shelf in her office. Once Abby got them down, she shoved them into Tony's hands. Then she pulled out two pillows from under her desk and pushed them into Ziva's arms. Abby smiled happily at them.

"I sleep here a lot." She explained then skipped back into her lab towards Gibbs who was smiling big and now leaving. His job was complete. The door to Abby's office shut and the room became quiet, almost peaceful. Abby continued her work in the lab like they weren't even locked in her office with blankets and pillows.

Ziva turned to Tony, who looked at her and smiled slightly. He gently took the pillows out of her hands and placed them closely together. He motioned her to lie down but Ziva just stared at him, dumbfounded.

"What?" Tony asked, wandering why they weren't already on the ground, sleeping.

"So, we do not have to work today?" Ziva asked. Tony sighed loudly.

"Do you always need an explanation for everything?" He asked in an annoyed tone.

"_No _Tony. I am just curios as to why…"

"Ziva, shut up." Tony interrupted. Ziva turned to him with her jaw opened slightly. He had only ever said that to her one other time, when he was saving her life in Africa. "Sorry. I just don't want to start arguing again." Tony apologized, rephrasing his last statement. Ziva nodded a little as her partner dropped to his knees and made himself as comfy as he could on the tile floor. But still, she just stood over him.

Ziva felt uncomfortable sleeping during work. She especially felt uncomfortable sleeping at work with Gibbs knowing about it. Never had he let any of the team sleep on the job, not even during all-nighter cases. He never even let them take little _bat _naps.

And now that they were just going to sleep on the job anyways, maybe they could drive back home and see their baby boy. Ziva was still worrying about him constantly, despite her and Tony's argument. Sure, they had made sure their babysitter was one of the best in D.C. but still, so many things could go wrong. All Ziva wanted to do was be with Evan, and hold him. She was sure Tony wanted to too, but could understand all his frustration from lack of sleep.

"Ziva, get your butt down here." Tony commanded. His voice was quiet from drowsiness. His head was already lying nicely on the pillow and he was having trouble keeping his eyes open. As long as Ziva was standing over him though, his eyes would at least be slightly opened and locked on her.

"Are we still getting paid?" She asked, crossing her arms.

"Does it matter?" Tony snapped.

"I guess not." Ziva whispered. "But maybe if we are just going to sleep anyways, we can go back home." She suggested, knowing Tony would refuse.

"Ziva, Evan is fine. Nothing is going to go wrong." Tony assured, sitting up and grabbing her hand. He tried pulling her body down, but still she refused.

"Just like nothing went wrong on our first crime scene or our first dinner party?" Ziva snapped, memories flooding back to her. It was true, her and Tony weren't too lucky with _firsts_. Ziva didn't want their first time leaving Evan to be one of those unlucky times.

Tony stared at her, knowing how she was feeling and realizing how good of a point she was making. But still, he knew they both needed to get away and that they both needed to learn how to be away from their boy that they loved completely. Tony tugged on her hand again. This time, she gave in, looking into his bright green eyes and seeing his slight smile on the corner of his lips that made her heart melt and body tingle every time she saw it.

"Evan's going to be okay." Tony promised, bringing Ziva into his arms to hug her.

"You cannot be sure, Tony." Ziva argued, her motherly instincts refusing to disappear.

"I am sure, Ziva. How about we go home earlier today?" He suggested as they both lay down on Abby's pillows. Ziva cuddled up against him as Tony threw the blankets over both of their bodies. He felt her nod into his chest. Tony felt her body go limp as she drifted off into unconsciousness on Abby's office floor. He heard her began to snore quietly. Tony knew she couldn't have kept up the arguing and refusing for much longer. Sure, she was worried, but she was also tired too. Sleep had won the fight against her worries.

Tony wrapped his arms around Ziva, mostly trying to warm himself from the cold tile floor. It was terribly uncomfortable and he knew once they woke up, they would both be in terrible pain from sleeping on such a hard surface. But Tony, and obviously Ziva, were too tired to care. All Tony was thankful for was having peace and quiet and a boss that was hard as rock, but nice enough to let them have a few extra hours of sleep. He smiled slightly as he closed his eyes, listening to Ziva's soft snores before he finally followed her lead, and drifted of into sleep next to her.

* * *

><p>Gibbs covered up Evan with his sheets that he had put on the bed from the moving boxes earlier that day. He made sure the boy looked fairly comfortable before he left the room. His story about sleeping had made Evan pass out faster than he had expected, and was making him drowsy as well. Gibbs knew he better be getting off to bed as well, knowing the lawyer would be at the house early in the morning.<p>

When he reached his room and climbed into bed, Gibbs felt a lot better about himself. This time, he had defiantly told the right story, made the right decision, and now Evan was in the deepest sleep he had seen him in the past few days. Now Evan knew that his parents didn't forget about him when they left the house everyday, but that they thought about him every second. And loved him just as much as they loved each other.

* * *

><p><strong>I wanted to go in order with the way I told the stories, so sorry if it gets confusing but in the next chapters when the stories will be told, Evan will not be born yet. Thanks for your lovely reviews and alerts and thanks soo much for reading(:<strong>

**-Sam**


	8. Chapter 8

Gibbs kept his usual hard, blank look as he welcomed the attorney into his home and sat him down at his kitchen table. Gibbs face remained stiff, emotionless, as the lawyer snapped opened his brief case and poured out stacks of paper work. He laid down the papers on the table then flashed a smile at Gibbs. The silver haired fox noticed a hint of evil in the lawyer's sly smile. He really didn't like lawyers.

"Clyde Lynch."

DiNozzo had to of had problems with this guy. With a name like _Clyde_, how couldn't of he? He was Tony DiNozzo after all. Even Gibbs, being _Gibbs_, was silently laughing to himself about their attorney. Ziva must've been the one to hire their lawyer, probably without Tony's approval. If Tony were to hear this guy speak, a world of jokes would've been laid out and they would've never had an attorney to help them write their wills. Clyde's voice; it was about as high pitch as a fifteen-year-old girl and he sounded like was stuffed up in his nose. It was hard not to smirk a little at him, even for Gibbs.

"Leroy Gibbs." He introduced himself, taking Clyde's hand and shaking it.

"I am so terribly sorry for your lost Mr. Gibbs."

"Thank you." Gibbs said, managing to keep his composure when Clyde spoke.

"Okay, so let's get to it. Shall we?" There was that smile again. Even after meeting him, Gibbs saw that hint of evil in that smile. "Okay, so I took some time last night to look over Mr. and Mrs. DiNozzo's will." Clyde Lynch handed Gibbs some papers that he didn't bother to look over. He was waiting for their lawyer to explain it for him; that was his job after all.

Clyde realized Gibbs wasn't going to read over the papers and decided to start talking again. "Yes, so you were named as Evan's legal guardian in the terrible event that both his parents were to pass. I take he is already nicely moved in?"

"Yeah, but I wouldn't say _nicely _moved in." Gibbs mumbled. It was awkward talking about Evan like this when he was sleeping in the other room.

"Of course, understandable, of course." Clyde repeated, suddenly getting nervous from Gibbs' intimidating personality. "So since you were named, there shouldn't be any problem. All you have to do is sign, and we can set a date for you and Evan to be seen in front of a judge."

Now Gibbs looked down at the papers, Tony's and Ziva's will. He began reading it, feeling a terrible feeling down in his stomach. Once he signed these papers, Tony and Ziva were handing over their son to him. Evan was his responsibility. Gibbs knew he was able to care for him, and love him, and raise him right. Gibbs knew he and Evan would be fine together. The fact, though, that legally Evan was about to become his child made Gibbs sick. Because in reality, Evan would always be Tony's and Ziva's.

Clyde awkwardly waited for Gibbs to take the pen from his hand and sign the papers. He didn't do it, just kept reading. Clyde shifted in his seat and did the only thing he felt comfortable doing; talking. "I remember when we filled out their wills together."

Gibbs looked up at Clyde and realized he was about to hear a story.

* * *

><p>"Why can't we just send them in?" Tony wined as they walked down the hallway towards Clyde Lynch's office.<p>

"Tony, we are filling out our wills. This is important." Ziva argued.

"I know, but I really don't like this guy. I mean just the way he talks…"

Ziva looked up at Tony, locking eyes, and Tony shut his mouth. "Our lawyer is nice." Was all she said. Tony knew she got annoyed with him just as much as he did, if not more. Ziva noticed Tony's smile and began lecturing him. "Do not pester him like you did last time." She laughed, touching his chest lightly.

"_Clyde_ makes it too easy." Tony explained, grabbing her hand that was placed on his chest. He intertwined his fingers within hers and they continued walking towards the office. When they reached his door Ziva grabbed the handle, but stopped and turned back to Tony again.

"You have to promise me, no jokes." Ziva pleaded, quietly. Tony shifted his weight slightly from foot to foot and shook his head no.

"DiNozzo." She hissed. "When we first hired him I swear he was almost in tears after you…"

"I'll try." Tony compromised and Ziva knew that was all she was going to get. "But with a name like Clyde…"

Ziva silenced him with her finger from her free hand that wasn't gripping his. She turned the knob and walked into the office. Mr. Clyde Lynch's feet were placed highly on his desk and his reading glasses were settled nicely on the tip of his nose. The book he was reading was the cherry on top.

"_Deep Six_?" Tony laughed as Clyde whipped down the book, tore off his glasses and set his feet back down to the ground. Clyde mumbled loudly and shifted in his seat from nervousness since he was in the presence of the jokester, Anthony DiNozzo. The pair sat down in front of his desk when Clyde immediately got more uncomfortable. Tony smiled at this, knowing it was part of his doing. When Ziva noticed his smirk, she kicked him from under the table and turned back to their lawyer, who was blushing.

"Hello again, Mr. Lynch." Ziva said politely, holding out her hand for him to shake. He took it and held on to it for a little longer than anyone expected he would.

"Please, call me Clyde." He smiled at her, still clutching her hand. Ziva had to gently pull away from his grip.

"Well let's get started…" Clyde started grabbing papers from his desk drawers and setting them down on the table.

"Hey Clyde." Tony smiled, not offended at all that their lawyer didn't bother saying hello to him, but only Ziva. She nudged him slightly again to remind him about their promise, or compromise. Tony nudged her back, telling her he lied and wasn't going to keep it.

"Please, call me Mr. Lynch." Clyde said, not staring directly at Tony but keeping his eyes locked onto Ziva. Tony chuckled a little, noticing his not so discrete stares. "So let's start with your child…"

"Good book?" Tony asked, looking down at the hard cover of McGee, or Tom E. Gemcity's book. Ziva sighed to herself in annoyance, but couldn't deny that she bit her tongue to prevent that obnoxious laugh to slip out of her lips. Clyde stopped talking and looked down at his book. A drop of sweat slowly dripped down his forehead. Clyde quickly wipped it off before Ziva would notice, and grabbed the book to stuff it in his desk drawer. He nodded at Tony before looking back at Ziva.

"Yes, it's a good book." Clyde said then grabbed the papers again. "Now about your son; Evan right?" Ziva nodded and grabbed the papers from Clyde. "We need you to decide who his legal guardian will be in the terrible, terrible event that you two would both die." Clyde looked at Ziva with a sadden look, like he would be the one hurt the most if she were to be gone forever. Tony laughed a bit to himself when he noticed.

"What about your father, Tony?" Ziva asked, as she searched through their options in her head. Tony looked over at her in disbelief.

"_My _dad?" He laughed. "The guy who can't remember to pay a hotel bill after a night because he's too hung-over? No, defiantly not." Tony looked back at Ziva.

"I like your dad." She whispered, flashing a small smile at Tony.

"Yeah, because he likes you. Kind of like Mr. Clyde over here." Tony whispered back, pointing at their lawyer who now was blushing uncontrollably hearing everything they were saying. Ziva couldn't hold it off any longer and a loud laugh slipped out of her lips and it bounced off the walls in the small office. She put her hand over her mouth to stop her laughter then turned back to Clyde. When she saw his embarrassment, Ziva admittedly felt bad.

"What about your dad?" Tony asked. Ziva shot him a look and grabbed his hand, quickly smiling back at Clyde.

"Excuse us." Ziva said before leading Tony out of the office. He smiled at her when she placed herself in front of him, close enough to feel each other's warmth. The hallways were a bit small.

"Not _my_ father." Ziva explained. "If we die and leave Evan to my father, he'll be sent to Israel. _That_ is not happening."

"This is stupid; we aren't both going to die." Tony sighed, changing the subject.

"We have a very dangerous job Tony…" Ziva started, but was silenced by Tony slowly placing his lips on hers. Ziva loved it when he did that. Not interrupting her, Ziva _hated _that, but when he kissed her like this. She fell into him and kissed back, but Tony pulled away too quickly.

"As long as we have each other's backs, we're not going to get hurt Zee-vah." Tony whispered.

"This is probably true." Ziva whispered back, "but if something does happen, I want Evan in good hands."

"Yeah, I know. Me too." Tony sighed, throwing his head back and hitting the wall. Ziva pushed herself away from his grip and leaned against the opposite wall. She looked at Tony who stared at the ceiling until he felt her gaze on him. Only then did he flash his green eyes back at her brown ones, and locked their gaze in. They stayed like that, for a long time, just thinking. Obviously, they were left staring at each other too long because Clyde Lynch popped his head out of his office to check up on them, mostly Ziva though. The pair didn't break their gaze, and kept their eyes on each other as if Clyde wasn't even there.

"You two, okay?" Their lawyer asked.

"Hey Clyde!" Tony yelled, looking over at him.

"Please, Mr. Lynch." Mr. Lynch repeated to Tony. "Do you two need another moment?"

Tony looked back at Ziva who stared back at him. "No, I think we have everything all figured out." Tony answered for both of them. It was true; they had made up their minds, agreed with each other, and decided on a guardian for Evan without saying a word.

Clyde, Mr. Lynch led them back into his office. They all sat down and Clyde handed each of them a pen. "Just name who will be Evan's guardian if you two were to pass, sign here, initials here, and then sign here again." Tony and Ziva went to writing on each of their copies, filling out every detail and signing their names neatly.

"Is that all, _Clyde_?' Ziva asked, leaning over the desk to get close to the lawyer who blushed and nodded. He took the papers and then turned over Tony, who was smiling as he watched Ziva easily make the nerdy attorney tingle with her presence.

"I'm done too, Clyde." Tony said, handing over the papers.

"Call me Mr. Lynch, please." Clyde smiled, taking the papers. Ziva giggled a little as Clyde corrected him and starting making copies of their wills. "Are you sure you don't want discuss your guardianship with your Mr.…" Clyde took a moment to study the name, "Mr. Gibbs?" Tony and Ziva both shook their heads no.

"Gibbs will be okay with it." Tony said and Ziva nodded in agreement.

"Okay, we can make another appointment for you two to come and finish. Or just one of you, if another can't make it or something." Clyde suggested, looking at Ziva and smiling. Now, she was getting a little freaked out and a little more annoyed with their lawyer. She leaned over the desk to stare at Clyde.

"Is there any way we can um… fill out our wills at home maybe?" Ziva suggested, taking Tony's idea. He noticed, and flashed a smile over her way along with a look that she felt as soon as his eyes connected with her body. "And then we can just send it in." Ziva finished and looked to Tony quickly, to let him know she felt his gaze.

Clyde seemed stunned, and a bit disappointed that he wasn't going to get to see Ziva again. "Yeah, I think I can arrange that. Can I get your email?"

Ziva sighed, but luckily Tony spoke up. "Here, I can give you mine." He suggested, writing it down and getting up to leave. He grabbed Ziva's hand and pulled her up, leading her out of the office, hand-in-hand. Before they left, Tony flashed his famous DiNozzo smile and spoke up to their lawyer. "Hey Clyde, I'll email you later."

* * *

><p>Gibbs was glad Clyde finished his story before Evan walked into the kitchen. He noticed Gibbs, and a man, sitting together at the dinning room table. Evan guessed it was the lawyer. Gibbs finished signing some papers and waved Evan over before handing them back over to the attorney.<p>

"Yeah, Ziva was pretty attractive. I wasn't to sure about Tony…" Clyde looked up at Evan who had nicely made himself comfortable with them at the table. "You must be Evan." Clyde said. "I'm Mr. Lynch, your parent's lawyer."

Evan didn't shake his hand Mr. Lynch had held out for him, just nodded. The lawyer got the hint and awkwardly took it back and then stuffing the papers into his brief case.

"I'll be calling you Mr. Gibbs, about seeing the judge. Again, I'm sorry for your lost." Mr. Lynch smiled at Evan then nodded at Gibbs before leaving their house.

Evan and Gibbs sat silently at the dinning room table, until a question Evan was dying to ask finally slipped out of his mouth. "Do I get to stay with you?"

"Yeah, you're staying."

Evan really was worried. What if his mom's and dad's lawyer had made a mistake, or didn't want Gibbs to be his new guardian? Obviously, there hadn't been a problem. Evan was silently thankful for that.

"Mr. Lynch talks funny." Evan said as Gibbs began to laugh. "He looks weird too."

"His name is Clyde." Gibbs said, looking over at _their_ son. And for the first time in the past few days Evan and Gibbs laughed. They shared a real laugh, a loud laugh. A laugh that left them both feeling some what happy once they caught their breath.

* * *

><p><strong>I hope you guys enjoyed the humor. Please review! We are at 30 reviews, which is pretty big, to me at least! Thanks to <em>SmellyThePirate, Lemonn-Limee, blarney <em>and _DS2010_ for reviewing last chapter. I'm so happy you guys are all still reading, knowing that really keeps me motivated so keep up the reviews!**

**-Sam**


	9. Chapter 9

**Sorry guys that's it's been so long, but here comes the next chapter(: I hope everyone had a great holiday!**

* * *

><p>Gibbs threw down a pack of pop-tarts in front of Evan. He sat down across his newly, <em>legal <em>son while Evan carefully tore the packaging off and nibbled on his breakfast. It wasn't Evan's ideal morning meal with his mother always cooking and everything from pancakes to spaghetti dinners being stocked up in the fridge. Even though Evan would've rather been munching on hot waffles covered in syrup and butter, he knew Gibbs wasn't one to cook or spend any extra time in the morning than he didn't have to, especially on something like food. Evan realized he was just going to have to get used to the quick meals like pop-tarts. At least it wasn't coffee.

The famous Jethro Gibbs sat up from his chair and stood over Evan. "Would you want to go to the office today?" He asked as Evan finished his first pop-tart.

He pondered for a while. Going to the office would mean being in the same building where _they_ spent practically half their lives at. "Will Abby…and McGee be there?" Evan asked and Gibbs nodded. That fact changed almost everything. No matter how much he didn't want to go to the office, no matter how much he didn't want to be in the same place they stood only a few days ago, no matter how much he didn't want to see their desks, their belongings, and especially their bodies, Evan wanted to see Abby and McGee. He wanted to see Ducky and he wanted to talk to Jimmy. "Yeah, sure. When do you want to leave?"

"As soon as you're ready." Gibbs said and headed for the basement door. Evan watched him slip down the stairs for an unknown reason. There really wasn't any point of going down there except to work on that boat of his. And with Gibbs already being dressed and ready for another day of work without two of his agents, Evan doubted that Gibbs would be working on it now.

Evan let it go as he walked back to his room to yet again, search for his clothes in all the moving boxes. He thought of himself as lucky when he tore opened the first box and noticed piles of jeans and shirts neatly folded up into the package. Evan decided just to unpack it now to save himself some time later when he finally got to finish cleaning his new room. As he placed the shirts and pants neatly in the dresser drawers, Evan was surprisingly not crying. Sure, he was a little shaky, but a drop of water never left his light, green eyes once.

Once he finished putting away the remainder of his clothes and pulled over his shirt over his head, Evan strolled back out to the kitchen. He guessed Gibbs was still down in his basement for some mysterious reason and Evan didn't want to go and bother him. Gibb deserved some alone time and to be honest, so did Evan.

The twelve-year-old boy leaned back in the kitchen chair and rested his feet up on a nearby stool. He placed his hands above his head and tipped back his neck to stare up at the ceiling. Those same thoughts that had been wandering around in his head swarmed back up into his mind once again. Evan found himself thinking; why me? Why them? Why our family?

As Gibbs walked up from the basement he noticed Evan sitting in the kitchen. His feet were propped up and his head was in his hands, tilting back. If he had a pair of sunglasses on, Evan would have been the spitting image of his father sitting at his desk after a long day of no leads, and just trying to think. Gibbs stood in the doorway for a long time, just looking at him, and thinking about the irony. He fiddled with the glasses that were sitting deep down in his coat pocket until Evan felt his presence and turned around to face him.

"Are you ready to go Gibbs?" Evan whispered. He still didn't know why he had gone down into the basement.

"Let's get to it." Gibbs smiled, keeping the glasses inside his pocket and waving Evan over to the door. The boy followed him as they climbed into the car and made themselves comfortable. When Gibbs reached for his keys in his pocket, his fingers brushed the glasses that were quietly taking up space in his sports coat. The feeling of them made Gibbs stop and look down at his pockets questionably.

"What did you do down in the basement?" Evan asked, watching as Gibbs suddenly froze when his hand reached for the keys in his coat. It was strange behavior for the fearless leader, and Evan didn't like the new change of pace

Gibbs snapped out of his trance and looked back over at Evan. The look of worry had made its way onto Evan's twelve-year-old face. Gibbs smiled a reassuring smile and brought out the pair of sun glasses that were causing Gibbs so much distraction. Evan stared at his hands, wondering why a pair of meaningless glasses were causing the marine to act disrupt.

"Dad had a pair like those." Evan commented. Gibbs looked up at him and nodded.

"These are his pair." Gibbs informed. Evan looked up at Gibbs to see that he was truthful. Now those meaningless glasses were so much more meaningful now. They weren't just sun glasses; they were sun glasses that his dad, Tony had with him everywhere he went. He loved those pair of glasses almost as much as he loved jelly doughnuts. And here was Evan, staring at Gibbs who held his dad's most cherished item, wondering why he had them.

"He loved those." Evan said, remembering all the times Tony had wore the pair and had told him he would get Evan a pair the next time they were out together. Evan never did get a pair of those aviator sun glasses his dad seemed to pull off nicely.

"DiNozzo came over here a few weeks ago to drop off some case files. He met me basement still _wearing _these things." Gibbs laughed, "I told him to take the damn things off for one second in his life and oddly enough, he left them lying on my work bench." Gibb laughed again at the irony at the fact that Tony actually left the glasses anywhere, when it seemed like he never took them off. Evan laughed a little too.

"Mom hated those things." He said, pointing to the glasses.

"Everyone hated these things except for DiNozzo." Gibbs said, "But for some reason, they meant a lot to him."

"He always told me he liked how they looked like Tom Cruise's pair in _Top Gun_." Evan informed while Gibbs laughed at the movie reference. Evan looked up at him, feeling just as strongly about movies as his father did, wondering what was so funny. Gibbs smiled big and handed over the pair to Evan.

"You take these. I don't have any use for them." Gibbs mumbled as he started the car. "God knows DiNozzo did."

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><p>"<em>You don't have time to think up there. If you think, you're dead<em>." Tony quoted as he slipped on the pair of sunglasses he had just bought from the gas station where he had picked up fresh coffee, caffeine, doughnuts, and whatever the team needed for that morning. Ziva glared evilly at her partner from across the bullpen while McGee sighed loudly from over at his desk.

"Another movie quote, yes?" Ziva guessed. Tony nodded, happily smiling.

"_Top Gun_." He informed her when she rolled her eyes big and continued to read over some old case files.

"I look as good as TomCruise, if not _better_." Tony smiled, looking over at Ziva. She smiled slightly so he was the only one to notice.

"Where did you get those anyways?" McGee scowled. Tony shot a look at him and grabbed the bag full of food and a tray full of coffees that had been sitting on his desk.

"Picked them up at the gas station this morning." Tony smiled, setting the goodies on Tim's desk. "Twelve bucks! Can you believe it?" He pointed to his face where the glasses nicely rested and looked from McGee to Ziva. Ziva had to admit, he did look awfully good in them.

"Wait, so let me get this strait." McGee said, causing his two partners, co-workers, and friends, to sacrifice their undivided attention to him. "You bought those glasses because they look like the ones Tom Cruise wore in _Top Gun_?" Both McGee and Ziva looked at the senior field agent, waiting for an answer.

"That's exactly why I bought them!" Tony exclaimed. McGee's and Ziva's moans synchronized as they both shook their heads disapprovingly at DiNozzo. "What?" He asked, wondering what the big deal was.

"Nothing." They both said as the two went back to work on their more recent case. Tony felt he should do the same, with this case being an especially important since it involved a kidnapped little girl. But even though he was feeling fully awake ever since that cashier handed over the glasses, that he was still wearing, he was still in need of a drink.

Tony made his way back over to McGee's desk and inspected the coffees. Tony usually wasn't the one to drink coffee, unless it was filled with cream and plenty of sugar. He actually loved coffee, as long as it wasn't Gibbs'. Unfortunately, there was no writing on the cups to inform him which one was his. Tony cursed under his breath causing McGee to look up at him.

"What are you doing now?" McGee asked out of curiosity.

"There's nothing here that tells me which one is mine." Tony inspected, holding up each cup to look for any hint that this was the coffee with loads of cream and sugar. He began taking the lids off each one and sniffing, maybe to catch the scent of his caffeinated morning drink.

"Maybe if you took those glasses off you would be able to see better." McGee suggested, wondering how Tony could see anything inside the NCIS building while wearing a pair of sun glasses.

"No need. I narrowed them down." Tony explained, taking out the two cups and holding them up to his eyes. Now Ziva was looking up from her desk to watch Tony sniff the two cups of coffee. Tony held the cups closer to eyes to study them better since the glasses were causing some falter to his vision.

"For _Peter's _Sake Tony, just take the damn glasses off!" Ziva yelled, having enough with all his distractions.

"For_ Pete's _Sake, Ziva." Tony corrected her without blinking an eye, or taking one off the coffees.

"What?" She snapped back at him.

"The term is For_ Pete's _Sake not _Peter's _Sake. _Peter's _sake? What _is_ that?" Tony explained making Ziva glare at him with even more evil than before. She mumbled something to herself then went back to working the best she could with Tony standing in the middle of the bullpen wearing sun glasses while inspecting two cups of coffee. Tony took the top off of the first drink and held it up to his lips. McGee noticed and tried to stop him.

"No. No, Tony that is not a good idea." McGee warned.

"_Sorry Goose, but it's time to buzz the tower_." Tony, yet again, quoted the movie _Top Gun_. He held the coffee to his lips and took a small sip, quickly regretting it.

The very black, very strong, and very hot drink collided with his tongue. Tony's taste bites admittedly went haywire. He had to run over to the trash to spit the liquid out of his mouth. Tony gagged as he set the cup of black, no cream, no sugar, coffee back on McGee's desk. Ziva couldn't help but laugh, loudly, at his misfortune. Tony shot her a glare through his aviator glasses when he grabbed his cup and headed back for his desk.

"You drank Gibbs' coffee, didn't you?" McGee smiled. Tony broke his gaze with Ziva to give McGee his own personal glare of hate.

"Yes." Tony growled through his teeth as he sipped his coffee to get the horrid taste of Gibbs' flavorless drink out of his mouth. Ziva found herself laughing again.

"What?" Tony shot at her, which made her laugh even louder. She had to hold her hand over her mouth to help herself calm down and finally get out the words she was trying to say.

"If you would have just taken the glasses off, I'm sure you would have seen the writing on your cup." She giggled. Tony held up the cup and inspected it.

"I don't see anything." Tony insisted. Now McGee saw the small black words written neatly on his cup.

"Take the glasses off Tony, and you'll see it." McGee walked over and pointed to the words 'extra cream and sugar' written on the bottom edge of his cup. Tony gaped at the words and moaned loudly. Still, he refused to take off the glasses.

"Whatever. I think you two are just jealous of my new look." Tony said, changing the subject. He lifted himself back up from his desk and stood in the middle of the squad room. It was easy to see Ziva and McGee roll their eyes, even with his glasses still on.

Gibbs calmly walked down the stairs from the Director's office and made his way into the bullpen. He took one look at his Senior Field Agent and sighed.

"Take the glasses off DiNozzo." He commanded. Tony gladly followed orders.

"Yes boss."

The team got a look from Gibbs that said he was ready for an update on the case. Tony knew he shouldn't, but opened his mouth anyways.

"_Talk to me Goose_." He quoted, pointing and smiling back at McGee. Tim moaned a little before reporting their findings on the kidnapped girl, who Ziva and McGee had found that it was possible for her to be in an a banded warehouse on the west side of Quantico, while Tony was getting coffee and Gibbs was up in the Director's office. The boss man nodded slightly.

"Okay, grab your gear." He ordered as his team went into action, but not without Tony quoting _Top Gun_ again.

"_Too close for missiles, I'm switching to guns_." Tony laughed, holding up his hand gun and hoisting it into his belt. It was obvious he was being ignored when Gibbs led Ziva and McGee to the elevator. Tony quickly chased after them, but not without grabbing his new glasses off his desk. He shoved his hand between the elevator doors before they could close.

"_Tower, this is Ghost Rider requesting a flyby_." Tony quoted, stepping into the elevator and slipping on his aviators, smiling at his boss and his two partners. The doors of the elevator closed and there was silence, until Gibbs spoke up from behind his agents.

"_Negative, Ghost Rider. The pattern is full_." Gibbs quoted back. Everyone turned to him in surprise, but Tony was the only one to say anything.

"Boss, I'm so proud." Tony smiled, happy that he wasn't the only who could quote a great movie like _Top Gun_.

"I wish I could say the same to you, DiNozzo." Gibbs mumbled, nodding to his glasses that were now back on his face. Ziva laughed loudly, McGee tried to hold back the big smile on his lips, and Tony went back to facing the doors and his back facing his boss. They all heard Gibbs laugh a little, which made Tony feel a bit better about himself. At least he knew his boss could joke.

"One more thing, DiNozzo."

"Yes boss?"

"Don't ever touch my coffee again." Gibbs spoke when Tony felt a hard slap to the back of his head.

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><p><strong>I do not own any of Top Gun. And yes, those were actual quotes from the movie :P Thanks to <em>Lemonn-Limee, blarney, SunnyCitrus10, leniimarie96, SmellyThePirate, <em>and _DS2010_ for reviewing in chapter 8, you guys are awsome(: And also thanks for all the alerts!**

**-Sam**


	10. Chapter 10

**I apologize for the long wait guys! I hope the wait was worth it(: **

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><p>The car ride was silent. Not awkward, just silent. Evan watched out the window when he saw the NCIS building come into view. He sat up in his seat, suddenly getting attacked with feelings he just got rid of. But he didn't cry, he promised himself he wouldn't cry. Evan drew in a deep breath as Gibbs parked, and they both headed towards the front doors.<p>

Evan never was one to have second thoughts, until now. Sure, he came here yesterday but yesterday was yesterday. And today was today. Today, Evan felt butterflies swell up in his stomach when him and his guardian stepped into the elevator and headed up to the office. Evan didn't want to see their desks again, he didn't want to see McGee anymore, and he sure didn't want to see Abby the way he saw her yesterday. But it was already too late. The doors were opening and Gibbs was pushing him forward, knowing if he didn't, Evan would've never budged.

He wished he wouldn't have moved, he should've stayed in that elevator. Better yet, he should've stayed home, in bed. Where the only memories of his mom and dad was the family portrait sitting peacefully on his bed side table. Instead, he was here, standing between their desks. He didn't move, but he listened. Evan listened to the whole office live on like nothing. He listened to the quiet chatter and random bursts of laughter from some one laughing at another's joke. His dad used to joke. His mom used to laugh.

"Evan." Gibbs spoke calmly, afraid he might startle the boy. But still, he didn't move. In a way, Gibbs was a bit spooked out by him. Evan was just standing there, eyes glued to the back wall. He wasn't moving a muscle; his eyes didn't even blink. The only thing that moved was his tiny chest, up and down, in and out. At least it was a sign he was still breathing.

God, Tony would've had a field day with movie references at the sight of his son.

"Evan." Gibbs said, a little louder now.

Evan jerked back into reality, forgetting the jokes and laughs him and his mom and dad used to have. Well, he never really forgot, just pushed the memories to the back of his head for another time. "What?"

"Son, why don't you go and talk with Abby." It wasn't odd for Gibbs to call him _son_. He always called him that. It was something you would expect a grandfather to say to his grandson, so no one never really thought twice about it. But Evan thought of it now. It was the first time he had heard _son_ come out of Gibbs' mouth in the past few days when _they_…left.

Evan nodded in agreement. It was hard to move his legs at first, but managed to get himself walking. But not before he stopped to take one last look at the first two desks sitting there, still full of life. It looked like Tony and Ziva still worked there the way they had pictures lined up at the edge of their desks and papers stacked in organized piles. If any outsider were to walk in now, they would've casually thought the rest of the 'Gibbs' team was just taking a bathroom break.

After that thought, Evan forced himself to leave.

He took the stairs down to Abby's lab, but not before passing McGee on the way down. At first, their conversation was casual. Just a simple smile, a wave and a small hello from each of them satisfied Evan for the moment. But it was obvious McGee wanted more.

"How are you feeling?" McGee asked, knowing it was a stupid question for the time. It made the atmosphere around them so much more awkward than it already was. Everyone expected that out of Palmer, not Tim.

All Evan could do was nod. McGee tried to smile at him before talking again.

"Well, we have a case. I'll see you around bud." He ended the too awkward conversation after tussling Evan's hair and continuing up the stairs. Evan headed down the opposite way, wondering if McGee was taking the stairs for the same reason he was.

He sighed in relief when he saw Abby in her lab coat, short skirt, high stockings, boots, and her pigtails. She _looked_ normal, but he could tell right away she sure wasn't acting like it. The first clue was the music; none was playing.

"Hey Abby." Evan greeted. She jumped in surprise and turned around to see _their _child smiling up at her, or at least trying to smile. It was obvious it was hard for him to do; it was hard for them to all smile like they meant it.

"Evan!" She yelled, and embraced him with a strong hug. He noticed that her voice wasn't so low and scratchy today. Her voice was more normal, more _Abby_.

"Here, you can sit down right here." She pulled out her stool and patted the seat. She waited until he was sitting until she started again. "We are working on a case right now, we got it last night and the night crew already cleaned up the scene and everything, but everything is just so un-organized." Abby stood in front of her table with three boxes filled with evidence.

Evan stared at those boxes. They reminded him of the ones at Gibbs' house, waiting for him to unpack them. Just like these boxes were waiting for Abby, only she seemed like she was missing something.

"And I've been so busy, kid. I can't find my evidence bags. And since we're short handed…" And then her happy voice was gone. Evan watched as she quickly wiped her eyes before the tears could even start to pour down. She coughed a little and then looked back at up him. Evan just smiled at her understandingly. But she just turned back around and shook her head. She didn't talk anymore.

Abby fumbled around her lab, searching for the evidence bags. It was odd to Evan, Abby always kept those handy; she never lost anything, especially in her lab. She turned to him who was sitting on her stool watching her stumble around like an idiot. She tried to smile to tell him she was fine, nothing was wrong, everything was good. But Evan knew better. Abby was stressed, emotional, and confused out of her mind. And she couldn't take back the way her voice had just cracked when she accidently brought _them _up.

He wanted to offer her some help to speed up the looking process, but decided against it. Abby would've been embarrassed to know that Evan knew she wasn't well, wasn't good, and was missing evidence bags; an important piece to their investigation. If he offered her help, she would've yelled, or cried, or declined. Yeah, Evan knew better.

After a short time, Evan saw Tim again, walking into the lab. He stopped, listened and waiting for the music. When it never came, McGee turned to Evan and smiled again, hoping to make up for their confrontation on the stair case.

He found Evan watching Abby intently while she wandered around her lab. It almost looked like she was looking for something, which was strange because she never lost anything. "Hey Abby, Gibbs' needs the murder weapon." He said, but Abby kept her back turned. She bent down and began rummaging through her filing cabinets. McGee sighed, and looked around the lab. He noticed the gun sitting in one of the boxes. Tim grabbed some latex gloves and picked the weapon up. "Where are your evidence bags?" He asked, not realizing that Abby was already searching. She stood up and turned towards her friend, giving him the most evil, rudest, meanest stare she could.

Evan wanted to shout out, to warn Tim about how Abby was acting. But he couldn't get himself to say anything. And this time it wasn't because it was too _awkward_ for him.

"I don't know Tim! I don't _know_! Didn't it occur to you that maybe I was _already _looking for them?" Abby snapped. Everything went silent, and Evan had to bite his lip from whimpering. He had never seen Abby like this, and it was obvious McGee hadn't either. But today, he wasn't in one of his sympathetic moods. Abby wasn't the only one who had lost two good friends a few days ago.

"I didn't know Abby; you have never lost anything _before_." McGee snapped back. Evan didn't really think they were irritated with each mostly because they _never _got irritated with each other. He guessed they both were just running on a few hours of sleep and just tired. He guessed they were both dealing with a lot of emotions they never had to deal with before, just like him. Evan guessed they were pretty mad with the world for taking away their two best friends away from them.

"_Before_?" Her voice cracked, but her words remained steady. "Before I didn't have to run around this lab trying to catch a killer _without_ Tony and Ziva. Before I wasn't constantly asking myself _why them_. Before I didn't have tears swell up in my eyes every second I tried to work. _Before _is a lot different than _now_ McGee." She was now yelling, and her make up was running. Evan looked over towards McGee, whose cheeks were covered by water as well. Seeing his Uncle Tim like that, made Evan want to cry. But Evan had already promised himself this morning that he would be strong. That he could make at least _one_ day without crying.

"You don't think it's different for _me_ too? It's not just different for _you_, Abby. You didn't go out in the field with them; you never experienced them having your back when your life is in danger. You didn't know them like I did!"

McGee felt a hard slap across his cheek. Evan gasped in shock and tried to hold back the tears. When McGee finally came back into his right mind, Abby was standing in front of him, screaming.

"You take that back!" She was yelling, tears now pouring fearlessly out of her eyes and her hand pounding from the hard slap she had just delivered to Timmy's face.

Evan looked from McGee to Abby and let the water slip silently out from his eyes. They were supposed to be friends. They weren't supposed to fight, especially not in front of him. Evan didn't deserve this, he knew.

"You just, slapped me." McGee blindly stated, rubbing his check.

"Take it back, Tim."

"God Abby, you just _slapped _me!"

"They were my _best _friends!" She screamed again, falling to her feet and crying into her knees. Evan couldn't handle this, not now.

"Just stop!" He cried, louder than their screams that over powered the lab. "Stop it!" He hated to wine, but he hated them like this. Abby and McGee weren't supposed to fight.

For a moment, everything went quiet and for once, not even music played in the background. The lab was dead silent. Abby and Tim turned back to Evan as if seeing him there for the first time. Their cheeks were filled with tears and pink with anger. Two pairs of eyes laid themselves onto him, and Evan took a deep breath to clam himself down.

"Guys, just stop." He said, again. It was all he could say; all he knew to say. Evan opened his mouth to explain himself, but he had waited too long.

"Look what you did Tim." Abby snapped and rushed over to Evan, hugging him with all she had. He touched her shoulders, astounded how she easily threw her best friend under the bus. He kept his eyes locked on McGee as he started at them, just as dumbfounded as Evan was.

"I wasn't the only one yelling, Abby." He finally said, after Evan gently pushed the scientist off of him when he began to feel tears soak in through his shirt on his shoulder. She turned towards him in such a dramatic fashion; Evan caught wind of her lab coat swirling by.

"I wasn't the only one either." She snapped back. And their arguments started up all over again.

"Do you ever think before you talk McGee?" It was the first time in a while she didn't call him Tim.

"Do _you_? Evan is sitting right there and you're trying to fight with me?"

"I'm not _trying _to fight with anyone. Excuse me if I'm stressed, and sad, and…_Angry_!" Abby's hands formed fists and she was back on her knees in a broken heap. Only this time, McGee didn't push her anymore. Especially since her cries were loud enough to echo off her lab walls. The junior agent crawled over to her, and as if they did this everyday, grabbed her. The Goth took him, and held on to him for a long time. That made Evan sigh in relief. He was glad they could fight, and in the end, come out closer than ever. It reminded him so much of how Tony and Ziva acted.

"What the hell is going on down here?" The loud, powerful voice came from the hallway and after a few more brief moments, there was Gibbs standing in the doorway. Abby looked up from McGee's shoulder and quickly got to her feet, brushing off her skirt. She slowly helped her _Timmy_ up to his feet after.

"Why is Evan crying?" Gibbs asked. Evan managed to roll his eyes without anyone noticing. He hated how they kept talking about him like he wasn't even there. But still, he wiped his face to rid them of heavy tears. Truthfully, he hadn't known he was crying that much.

"It's my fault, boss." McGee spoke up, taking the blame for everything. His voice was hard, yet softer than usual.

"No Gibbs, me and Tim just got into a…little fight." Her scratchy voice was back. It was obvious they had both been crying like Evan.

"A fight." Gibbs spoke. It wasn't a question or a statement. Everyone just assumed he was thinking out loud for a moment. He stole a glance back at Evan, who was violently trying to hold back the tears as well as he could. Gibbs noticed.

"They were fighting, Gibbs." Evan mumbled, as if he were just joining the conversation now. "But I'm…I'm okay." He watched the tear fall directly from his eye and hit his jeans with a silent splash. It soaked into the denim just as Abby's had soaked into the cotton of his shirt.

Gibbs looked back to the remainder of his team. The pair shyly came closer to them, even though they both would've rather backed into a corner.

"Evan, we didn't mean to make you sad." Abby whispered making a slight 'shh' sound with her lips. She bent down in front of him and caressed the boy's face, brushing away all the tears with her thumb. Evan's lip quivered slightly. His mom had only ever held his face like this; Ziva was the only one who could ever calm him down with a simple sound like 'shh.'

"We're sorry bud." McGee whispered, leaning down to tussle Evan's hair and plant a small kiss on his nephew's head. They were acting just like them. Doing everything they would've done if it were them. But McGee and Abby, they weren't his mom and dad. No one could ever be his mom or dad again, but for now, his unspoken Uncle Tim and Aunt Abby were the second best. Just for now, until he clamed down.

"When people fight, it's usually a sign that they care about each other." Abby explained. "And they're only fighting because they love each other very much."

"But…our family isn't supposed to fight." Evan whispered. Abby's hand fell to her side and her lips began to quiver while she blinked her eyes fearlessly until she couldn't hold the water works back any longer.

"Oh God." She choked, and walked towards Gibbs who greeted her in his arms. Even with his 'Favorite' crying into his arms, Gibbs kept his eyes locked on McGee, who was now saying something to Evan.

"Families fight bud, a lot sometimes, because families love each other." He tried to further explain.

"So mom and dad, they loved each other a lot." Evan mumbled, "But they didn't fight. Not like you and Abby just did." He didn't mean to make them feel any worse, but he wanted so badly to understand how people who love each other so much, people who are _family_, could fight the way Abby and McGee had. And it shocked Evan even more how it took two deaths in their lives to bring out that behavior from either of them.

"Oh they fought plenty." McGee sighed, rolling his eyes slightly. Gibbs and Abby got a small laugh out of that one. Evan just stared at him blankly. "They were never _really_ mad at each other, though."

"So that means they didn't love each other?" Evan questioned. McGee looked back at Gibbs who stepped forward after handed the crying scientist over to his newest Senior Agent.

"Evan. When two people fight really badly, it only means that they care about each other. They fight because they care and want the best for one another. It doesn't mean they love each other any less." Gibbs explained in a rather lengthily speech than the 'man of few words' would have cared for. He had been talking a lot more than usual in the past few days.

"Evan, I have a story about Ziva and Tony…your mom and dad." Abby suddenly spoke up, lifting her head from McGee's shoulder. "I mean, if you're up for it."

Evan nodded his head slowly to tell her he was okay, and that he would like to hear.

"Abby, they did fight _a lot_. And bicker a lot. I don't think he wants…" McGee whispered into her ear but she cut him off.

"No, this was different…"

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><p><strong>Okay guys, here it is(: Please Review, I love reading them and hearing from all of you! Thanks <em>SmellyThePirate <em>(who I will be emailing as soon as I finish up with this studying and I thank you for helping me with this chapter!) and _danielle007 _(thought I would tell you 007 reminds me of James Bond! lol). You guys are great. As always, thanks for reading!**

**-Sam**


	11. Chapter 11

Ziva chewed on her pencil as she stared at him from a few feet away. It was weird how he didn't look up at her and smile after he felt her eyes locked on him for a while. Tony usually never missed when she'd sneak a look at him, even at the most random of times.

He'd been acting off all week. It wasn't like him to act this way. He was unfocused, distracted, visibly confused, and no matter how much she studied him, talked to him, even _kissed _him, Ziva could not figure out what was on Anthony DiNozzo's mind. Everything about him seemed different. And by everything, Ziva meant _everything_.

For instance, their banter. Sure, ever since they had that first kiss outside of her apartment and officially confirmed to everyone that they were a couple (no one was ever surprised by this news) their banter across the bullpen had gone down, slightly. But lately, he didn't throw sarcastic comments towards her, make up silly jokes about McGee, or even mention how many cups of coffee their boss had consumed in the past few hours. For the first time, Anthony DiNozzo spoke of nothing but their current case for one straight week. It bugged Ziva even more that their case involved a wife _and _a lover. But still, her partner didn't make one remark.

His investigating skills had plunged deep down in the gutter this week. He missed obvious pieces of evidences, always followed up in the wrong leads instead of the right ones, and never seemed to ask the important questions when Gibbs put him in interrogation. This dwelled in Ziva uncomfortably. Tony wasn't a lot of things, but he was a good investigator. One of the best, no matter how much anyone wanted to deny it.

He wasn't even the same at home. They would come back to their apartment after work and he would crawl right into bed. He wouldn't even ask her to cook for him, or kiss her goodnight, or put in a DVD and listen to the sounds of his favorite movies as he fell asleep on the couch. And when she did manage to kiss him, it wasn't nearly as passionate and intense as it usually was, even with the smallest of kisses.

"DiNozzo, what's going on with you?" Gibbs suddenly snapped, pushing Ziva out of her thoughts and forcing her to make a mental note to thank her boss for asking a question she had been to afraid to ask all week. Tony looked up from his work that he was actually finishing instead of making it McGee's responsibility last minute. He gave his boss his best innocent look he could. It didn't go unnoticed to Ziva, or even Gibbs and McGee that Tony didn't even look over in his girlfriend's direction.

"Nothing boss."

Ziva tried to tell if he was lying or not. It was hard, since he wouldn't give her a look of any kind to suggest he was or wasn't. Usually he would send his eyes her way, telling her that he was fine, or that it was something they would talk about later. That didn't happen today. Ziva decided to look over at McGee and Gibbs. It was obvious they were trying to tell if the Senior Agent was pulling his usual BS, or actually being honest too. Unfortunately it was hard to distinguish the two today.

"Then let's hear what we have." Gibbs finally spoke, letting DiNozzo's behavior slide for the time being. All three of them gathered around the plasma next to Gibbs. Ziva shifted closer to Tony, but he managed to keep his distance from her. She looked up at him again to maybe get an idea as to why he didn't want to be next to her, but his gaze was steady on the screen.

"Petty Officer Jacob Neil." McGee announced, clicking a few buttons to bring the victim's profile up on the screen. "Ducky says he was beaten to death late last night."

"Crime of passion." Gibbs stated as everyone gave Tony an extra glance to see if he would finally crack out a joke about the wife or the mistress.

"Or rage." Tony responded, shrugging a bit to seem as if he didn't get what the big deal was. Ziva had to bite her lip to stop herself from lashing out at him and screaming 'What the hell is up with you this week?' But she couldn't just stand there and not say anything at all.

"Same thing." She snorted, crossing her arms as if saying 'I am fed up with how un-DiNozzo like Tony is acting.' Gibbs and McGee seemed to take notice while Tony just stared off into the screen, ending his and her banter before it could even begin.

"Well," McGee awkwardly said, making his way back into the conversation and bringing everyone back on task, "His wife said that Neil had been acting distant lately, right around the time when he began seeing his girlfriend, Kelly. Neither of them has confirmed alibis yet."

"Well confirm them." Gibbs said, heading towards his desk to grab a few more things before heading out for his next coffee run. It was getting late and he needed some caffeine to replenish himself before working again.

During that time, Ziva and McGee were already sitting at their desks making phone calls and writing emails. Tony was left standing at the screen. Ziva noticed him and began chewing on her pencil again. Had she done something wrong? They hadn't had any sort of fight in the past week, but then again, they hadn't talked much at all because of the way Tony was acting. She thought things were actually going well, better than well really, before this week. Before Tony turned into someone completely different.

"Maybe the guy had commitment issues."

Gibbs stopped gathering his things, McGee stopped typing on his key board and Ziva let the pencil drop back to her desk. They stared at Tony in awe as he made his first real attempt to start any type of conversation. And for a second, everyone thought that was all he was going to say from the way he took a dramatic pause in between sentences.

"I mean his marriage. Maybe things were heating up and the guy just needed to get away. Maybe he _needed_ this girlfriend to help get his mind off things at home."

At first, McGee was the only one who wasn't too astounded to say anything. "They were already married, how more heated up could it get?"

"Marriage is a big deal. You never know what might run through a guy's head when things do get…serious."

Ziva felt her jaw open slightly when she heard these words leave Tony's mouth. She knew right then that he was talking about her, talking about _them_. Of course, she still was a little unsure why he was dragging marriage in their relationship when they were only going on their fourth month of dating.

"Again Tony, they are married. I don't understand how anymore serious two people could get." McGee tried explaining even though it was fairly obvious that Tony wasn't talking about the married couple anymore.

"Tim, why don't you go down and check up on Abby." Gibbs' voice was stronger than usual and just harsh enough to get McGee standing and following orders. As the Probie left, Tony headed towards his desk, picking up his jacket and leaving his gun and badge.

"Tony…" Ziva started, still not sure on what to say. But even if she had come up with the right words she wouldn't have gotten a chance to say them. Her partner, her boyfriend, her best friend, was already leaving the bullpen. He didn't even try to hide the fact that he was ditching the building because he went straight for elevators, leaving Gibbs and Ziva wide eyed back in office.

Gibbs didn't even know where to begin when Ziva threw her head in the palms of her hands. He usually was good with children and his team was his children after all, but this was different. He was in complete shock of how DiNozzo's behavior had changed in a matter of days. Hell, just last week he couldn't separate him from Ziva to save his life, and now he had just walked out of the building after making a comment about 'commitment issues.' Gibbs should've seen this coming. It was _Tony DiNozzo_ after all. He should've stopped it while he had a chance. He never should've talked himself into thinking that Tony was actually ready for a full on relationship with anyone, especially Ziva who had already been hurt two many times. But for the life of him, Gibbs could not shake off that feeling that he _knew _these two belonged together, no matter how committed or un-committed either of them were.

"God Gibbs he's doing it to me." Ziva mumbled in her hands. He responded by walking over to her and placing his hand on her back, giving it a reassuring rub. "I should have known he would this. I knew we were taking it too fast. And when he asked to move in together… I knew it was too good to be true. He's just a player, yes?" She looked up at her fatherly figure. Her eyes begged for advice from him. Surely anything would do.

There was nothing but silence coming from Gibbs, but it didn't really matter. Ziva hadn't given him enough time to think and respond.

"I am just another girl to him now. Just another one of his screw ups. I feel like I have been kidding myself for the past four months, Gibbs. I actually thought he had feelings for me…that he was ready to do this." Ziva couldn't believe she was admitting this to Gibbs. But he was glad, because it gave him some room to insert himself in her conversation.

"Ziver, I need you to listen to me now." He whispered, squatting and turning her chair so he could see her eyes and she could see his. "I wish I could tell you what's going through that thick skull of his right now, I really wish I could. But I can't, and I don't know what has gotten him so rallied up all of the sudden. But I have known that man for a long time and he doesn't take commitment good."

"You are not making me feel better, Gibbs." Ziva whispered.

"Let me finish, Ziva." Gibbs responded. "But I have never seen Tony care about some one as much as he does you, and I think that means something." Gibbs didn't tell her about that feeling he was getting about his two agents being put on this Earth for each other. He thought he would let that go, in case Tony didn't decide to pull through this crisis he seemed to be having.

"Then what is wrong with him? Why did he pick now to become distant towards me?" Ziva asked. Gibbs didn't know the answer. All he knew was that when Tony was with Ziva, he seemed happier then ever and never would Gibbs have thought Tony would've ruined it for anything. But unfortunately, Tony had really screwed up today and taken a huge step backwards.

"Go find him." Gibbs finally concluded, handing Ziva her jacket that was lying on the back of her chair. She took it cautiously and stared up at those big blue eyes. Gibbs flashed his rare smile for a slight second. "I was going to send you all home soon anyways. It's getting late, and I need all of you tomorrow."

It wasn't getting late. It was only a few minutes passed five.

"Where should I go?" Ziva suddenly asked while she slipped on her jacket but remained seated in her chair. She was surprised, really, that Gibbs was letting her leave. It was obvious he wasn't going to let them off early before this sudden incident had occurred. So Ziva was left in shock when Gibbs told her to scatter off, letting her and Tony's relationship affect their work, something Gibbs was never to fond of.

"You know him best, Ziva. I don't know where he is." Gibbs explained.

"What should I say?" She asked, thinking that Gibbs had all the answers.

"It'd be more like what _he _should say, Ziver. Now go." He ordered, taking her hand and pulling the Israeli out of her seat. She stared at him long and hard, trying to think of words to explain how she was feeling about her boss right now. The only thing that seemed right was placing a small kiss on his cheek and whispering 'Thank you' into his ear.

Once Ziva was swallowed up by the elevator, Gibbs called down to the lab to tell his next two kids to go home and rest. The way tonight had played out he knew everyone would need their sleep. Tomorrow would be a long day.

Ziva slowly walked to their car, realizing Tony had either taken the bus, or walked. She climbed into the car, started it up, and just sat there for a long time, not knowing where to drive to or what to do. She had never imagined something like this happening between her and Tony. But the more she thought about it, Ziva knew she had been kidding herself. Tony was…_Tony_. There really was no better way of explaining it.

He flirted with women, slept with women, but never cared about any woman. What made her any different? That he actually stayed with her for four more months he would've any other girl? Ziva thought he actually had feelings for her, but that obviously wasn't the case. He had gotten scared from commitment and decided to run away. She was surprised he hadn't done it sooner and guessed he had only stayed because he and she were _partners_.

He did love his job after all. Tony's job was probably the only thing he really was committed too.

God knows he wasn't committed to her anymore.

Ziva put the car in reverse and backed out of the parking lot. She decided sitting there locked in her own mind was only making things worse for both her and Tony. The only thing that she should've been on her mind was finding Tony. Luckily for Ziva, finding her partner wasn't as hard as she had thought it was going to be.

Ziva took the road her and Tony usually drove home and as she turned the corner and onto the street where their apartment was on, there he was. She drew in a sharp breath as if she was seeing him for the first time. He was walking down the sidewalk towards their building when she pulled over and jumped out of the car. Tony didn't notice her, and for a few moments Ziva awkwardly just stood on the opposite side of the street staring at him with her lips slightly opened not knowing what to say.

"DiNozzo!" Was the word that managed to slip out of her mouth. He turned to her, brushing his hand through his hair, knowing he had screwed up big and suddenly becoming nervous. He didn't say, or yell anything back to her. She wasn't sure if he just didn't know what to say, or if he was feeling uncomfortable dealing with this in the middle of the street where they were sure people were staring at the couple as they walked past. Still, he didn't say anything and Ziva would've been lying if she said that didn't upset her.

"Tony." She didn't even know if she had spoken loud enough for him to hear her, but it didn't matter because she was still unsure of what to say. Gibbs hadn't been that much help in that area. And now she was the one running her hand through her hair. "What is going on?" She found herself asking from across the street. "_Let it out_, Tony."

Despite everything that he had just done, how weirdly distant he had been acting, no force in the entire planet could prevent Tony DiNozzo from correcting her. "I think you mean _spit it out_, Ziva."

Ziva wasn't amused, even though he seemed like he was acting a little more like the man she had knew a week ago. She felt her face get hot and parted her lips to scream at him from across the street. "Can you stop hiding behind your jokes for one minute and tell me what is wrong?"

The public that happened to be walking by turned their heads towards Ziva; they were just as shocked as Tony. He stood a few yards away when a car casually passed by tearing his view of her for seconds. When he saw her again, the sun was shinning against her crocodile tears pouring down her face. Tony's heart twisted and all he wanted to do was run to her and kiss her on the mouth. He parted his lips to say something but nothing but a small girly squeak came out of his throat. For the first time in a very, _very _long time Tony DiNozzo went speechless.

Ziva sighed and put her hand on her forehead. This was it, she knew. It was like her brain wasn't in control of her legs when she began walking across the road towards her partner. No matter how much she wanted to, Ziva didn't stop moving. Her jacket brushed up with his when she strutted by, heading towards their apartment. Ziva didn't look back when she let herself in the building. And when the door slammed shut Tony was in shock, mostly with himself.

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><p>They had all made their way into Abby's office where Abby and McGee had set themselves up on a table and Gibbs sat with Evan on her desk. Evan swung his legs back and forth, now calmed down with Gibbs by his side. Between little breaks in the story Gibbs or McGee had chimed in to make a joke and had brought smiles to all their faces. But now that Abby's story was making its way towards a more serious vibe, her office was mostly silent.<p>

"So mom just left him on the street?" Evan asked.

"Yeah, pretty much. She was pretty pissed off." McGee mumbled.

"Well what girl wouldn't be? I mean, Tony was a real jerk that week." Abby defended.

"But that's Tony."

"No, that was the _old _Tony. Something changed in him when Ziva came around, I'm telling you. He was totally different when they first started dating. But that week, I swear, something was just making him squirm."

"What was it?" Evan asked, interrupting Abby and McGee. They both looked over at him and smiled a little.

"Be patient Evan!" Abby laughed, "I'm almost done, I promise."

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><p><strong>I apologize for the super long wait guys. I feel terrible but my in the past few weeks my inspirtation and idea levels have hit an all time low. I still hope at least half of you will stick with this story even though I had you guys waiting for so long! Thank for to <em>SUPERSTAR, Good Ridense, Short Sarcasm, barney, SmellyThePirate, SunnyCitrus10, <em>and _danielle007 _for reviewing last chapter and thank you to everyone who is still with me after so long! If anyone has any 'stories' they want to read about PLEASE let me know some how because even though my idea is back to normal, I still want to hear some more ideas. As always, thanks so much for reading! I love you guys!**

**-Sam**


	12. Chapter 12

**Guys! I really really really need your help! Like, what would you like to read about next? i've already asked, but I really want the next few chapters to be fun, and mostly full of good ideas! I want to know want you want to read? Just Review or PM me, pleaseee! Thanks so much!**

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><p>Tony didn't know anywhere else to go, but here. He didn't bother knocking, no one ever did. When he finally made his way across the dark house and down the basement, he saw Gibbs working hard on his newest project. Tony cautiously approached his boss, but never lost any confidence in his steps. He leaned his back against the boat and sighed loudly, letting Gibbs know he was there if he hadn't already known. You really could never tell.<p>

"What are you doing here DiNozzo?" Gibbs asked, never loosing concentration at the job at hand.

"I need help Gibbs."

Gibbs finished his last task on the fine piece of pinewood before he actually turned to his senior agent who just stared at the ceiling. Tony let out another sigh; asking for help was not an easy thing for him to do. He couldn't recall the last time he had actually asked anyone for help. His pride and ego usually took care of everything.

"I'm not you and Ziva's counselor."

"You got that right. You can't even stay married."

"Then what are you doing here DiNozzo?" There was that question again. Gibbs knew Tony would have the same answer. It was true, this DiNozzo needed help. He had dug himself a hole that he couldn't get out of.

"Could you talk to Ziva?" Tony suggested, "Put in a good word for me?"

"I'm not your wingman Tony. You sound completely ridiculous right now." Gibbs wiped his sandy hands off with an old towel before touching his agent's shoulder. "Get off my boat."

"I don't know what came over me Gibbs! I don't know what's happening to me." Tony explained, taking his weight off the wooden frame and making his way towards an open stool.

"You need to fix this DiNozzo. I can't have my team separated because of your stupid mistake."

"But it wasn't stupid Gibbs. I mean, _I _was stupid, but what I'm feeling isn't." Tony whispered, feeling like one of those sappy chick flicks Ziva always forced him to watch. Gibbs snuck a small look at him.

He would be the first to admit he never really thought DiNozzo would ever change, at all. But for the past few years something was clicking inside his senior agent. Something that made Tony change the way he looked on life, friendships, and especially women. Something that had proved Gibbs wrong. Sure, Tony still loved the flirting, the teasing, and the tight tops, but he chased after short skirts a little less now, and when Ziva and him actually started their little 'fling,' it was like Tony was a completely different person.

Except for this week where the old Tony started reappearing all over again. Gibbs grabbed the two empty jars from his tool bench and set them in front of Tony. Soon after, he filled the jars half full with some strong bourbon that both he and his agent took a sip of.

"Okay I'll bite. What's not stupid?" Gibbs asked.

"Like, this feeling I have." Tony tried explaining.

"That doesn't help." Gibbs mentioned, taking another sip of the alcohol and heading back towards his boat, still listening to Tony who was left sitting at the work bench.

"I don't know boss. I can't really explain it. All I know is that I've never felt anything like this before, and I'm kind of…freaked out." God, now he really sounded like a movie, and not a movie he would be proud of. He sounded more like the _Notebook _or _A Walk to Remember_. Tony shuddered a little from that terrible thought. If he and Ziva made it through this, he would be sure to make a mental note of accidently falling asleep when they watched sappy, romance movies.

"Use your head, DiNozzo. I'm not going to figure this out without your help." Gibbs mumbled. He really was trying to hear Tony out. No matter how pissed he was at DiNozzo for doing this to his Ziver, Tony had a right to explain himself to. But Tony was choosing his words a little too carefully, and he was getting on Gibbs' last sane nerve.

"I'm so confused right now boss." Tony sternly spoke, throwing his hands in the air and hitting them on the table with a loud thud. "I just need your help."

"What do you want me to do Tony?" Gibbs calmly asked. He knew that this confused crap was complete bull shit. But he kept it together and grabbed another sheet of sand paper and slid it across the grains of the wood.

"I want you to tell me what you're thinking."

"Okay Tony, I'll tell you." And then Gibbs' last nerve broke. He wasn't peacefully sanding his boat anymore. Instead, Gibbs had made his way over to his senior agent and planted himself right in his face. "I think that you screwed up, big time. I think you take commitment like a baby. I think you need to grow up already and face your fears. I think you hurt Ziva today, real bad. I think she doesn't deserve that, or you."

"I'm just…scared." Tony admitted, bringing him and his boss into a deep silence. Gibbs backed off from his agent while wiping his hand together. Tony, the Anthony DiNozzo, had just admitted he was scared. Scared as a child who was alone in the dark without his blanket. But Gibbs could see it in Tony's eyes. He wasn't just scared.

"Why?"

"Because…" Tony struggled to find his words. He knew why. He knew the exact words to explain it, or rather word. But that word was so difficult, so complicated, so short. Tony had trouble with that word, or maybe that word had trouble with him. Either way, Tony DiNozzo wasn't a bug fan of that four-letter word yet, he knew it could explain exactly what he was feeling. It could do a lot of things for him right now. It could answer Gibbs' question, get his boss off his case, and most importantly fix things between him and Ziva…for good. Once that word would leave his mouth, he knew him and Ziva would be forever, it was inevitable. Because if he ever told her that stupid, little word it wouldn't be because its what she wants to hear, it would be what he felt. It would be real.

"Why DiNozzo?" Gibbs asked again. His question echoed through Tony's confused head, but this time with his answer there was no such thing as hesitation.

"Because I love her."

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><p>"It was a big day for the boy. He had admitted that he was scared and that he was in love all in one night." Gibbs, who had taken over for Abby, laughed. "I should've known before hand. I mean, he explained how I felt perfectly when Shannon was around."<p>

Evan, Abby, and McGee stared at their leader with sympathy. It was very rare, almost as rare as Abby declining a Caf-Pow on a long night, for Gibbs to talk about his passed wife. But Gibbs kept that half-smile, half-frown on his face the whole time. He almost seemed happy to be talking about it. Evan's parent's death must've been changing him for the time being.

Evan smiled a little, took Gibbs' hand and whispered "What happened next?"

* * *

><p>The first thing she went for was the fridge. Usually Ziva wasn't the type of girl to just eat out all her pain and cry herself to sleep, especially over a boy. But right now all she craved was a tub of ice cream with a spoon and her favorite movie.<p>

When she slid the disk in and the wonderful tunes of _The Sound of Music_ echoed through their apartment, Ziva got out her ice cream. And when she got out the ice cream, she got into her sweats. She didn't mind that she was actually acting like a normal girl at the moment. Ziva almost felt like she deserved it. Every girl deserved it after a break up.

Hell, she didn't even know what her and Tony right now. She hoped it wasn't a break up, but knowing her boyfriend, she really would expect nothing less.

He was Tony after all. He didn't change. Not for anyone.

Well she thought he had changed.

For her.

Ziva lay on the couch covered with blankets and full of ice cream. She really wanted to watch the movie, but was to busy listening to her own thoughts. It wasn't like her to do this over anyone, not even a boy. She hadn't cried in the apartment, but she had let a few tears fall outside. Ziva felt almost scared by that thought. She had cried over Tony. _Cried._ Yeah, she was sure nothing scared her more than that.

It confused her to no end. She barely cried over anything, let alone something so _stupid_. Ziva laughed a little at that thought. Who was she really kidding? This wasn't stupid, not stupid at all. Obviously, whether she knew it or not, something was wrong with her. Something was wrong with how she felt about Tony or more like her and Tony _together_. You don't just let water fall out of your eyes over something stupid. You cry when you get hurt. You cry when you're sad. You cry when you're angry. You cry over a lot of things, but never something stupid.

Ziva tapped the spoon onto her bowl making soft clicking noises as she sorted through her thoughts…and emotions. She was a smart girl, she could figure this out. But Ziva wasn't good with this whole _feeling _thing. And it freaked her out that she was feeling so many things at the moment. Ziva laughed a little again. The NCIS agent, ex-Mossad officer, was _freaking out_. She felt a tiny drop of water slide slowly down her cheek. She didn't even know when she started crying; all she knew that when she did, the tears didn't stop coming. And that's when Ziva began to figure things out.

Ziva liked him so much. A little too much, perhaps. And maybe that would kill her in the end, but at least she knew how she felt about Tony. Ziva still got those butterflies when he touched her. She still felt chills go up her spine when their eyes met. Ziva had always been attracted to him, whether she admitted it or not. He made her laugh. He cheered her up. He protected her. She didn't want to lose him. She wanted him. Wanted him more than any other guy she had ever laid eyes on. Ziva wanted Tony in her life. She wanted him to be next to her through anything and everything. Ziva David wanted her partner to be apart of her future, and she had just figured out why.

Ziva quickly got up from the couch to take care of her dishes. She had to get those thoughts out her mind. Mostly because her thoughts scared her. Well, that _word _scared her. Ziva was so flustered with all her thoughts she didn't her the door open and shut to their apartment. In fact, she only knew someone was in their home when the movie paused and the whole apartment went silent.

"Ziva." His voice sounded different some how, but she couldn't really put her finger on what it was. Still, she appeared in the arch way to find her partner looking around the apartment like it was his first time visiting. When he saw her, Tony didn't smile as usual. Ziva was almost thankful for that. If she would've seen that perfect DiNozzo smile those thoughts would've came swarming right back into her already overwhelmed brain.

"I…I don't know what to say." Tony finally spit out. Truthfully, he wasn't too happy with his choice of words and it was highly likely Ziva wasn't either.

"Well you better figure it out." Ziva spoke, taking a long pause. "Or you can leave." She knew it sounded harsh, but what did he expect?

"I don't want to fight with you." He admitted seeing dried tears on her cheeck. he wanted to take his hadna nd wipe them away forever.

"Then what _do _you want to do, Tony? Kiss and make up?"

"That's not what I meant and you know…"

"Then really, please do explain to me what you meant. Because right now I am as confused as hell."

"Well, so am I!" Tony added, raising his voice just a bit but enough for Ziva to feel the tears forming back in her eyes. She held it together though. Because if she cried in front of him he would know how she really felt about him.

That she loved him.

And Ziva wasn't ready to admit that to him right now. Especially not today after what he had done.

"So, you act distant around me all week, make _commitment _comments right in front of me, leave the building after you bring up marriage, and you expect me not to be confused?" Ziva had now reached the top volume of her voice. She was surprised Tony hadn't hushed her.

"I didn't say you weren't allowed to be confused. I'm just saying so am I." Tony explained, trying to keep his voice at a regular volume. Maybe Ziva would get the hint to be quieter then because he really was using all his will power to prevent himself from not telling her to lower her voice.

"Why are you confused Tony? I really want to know." Ziva bluntly asked, folding her arms.

There was that question again. That question that Tony was always expected to answer. He had the answer, he just wasn't sure if he was ready to give it yet. Why did Ziva have to sound so much like Gibbs?

"The whole marriage thing, I didn't mean to say that okay? That just came out, I think." Tony started just to make things clear with her before he started to get real sappy and really emotional. "And when I mentioned the whole 'commitment' thing that was just me being…"

"Scared." Ziva finished. "And stupid."

"Yeah, I am."

"What are you scared of?" She asked, feeling a little less angry and a little more curious. At least she was getting some where with him. At least he wasn't shutting her out.

"I'm scared of…messing things up Ziva. I don't want to mess things up. Because…because I really, _really_, like you. And I don't want to…"

"Tony, you really hurt me today." Ziva interrupted. She didn't want to hear him go on. She knew he would say something to make her forget every point that she wanted to get through his head. "I…I had tears pouring down my face like a water _fountain_."

"Water_fall_." He corrected. Luckily, Ziva had enough power to ignore him.

"I was curled up on the couch eating ice cream and watching movies. I thought about things…important things."

He had started walking closer to her. Ziva watched him walk; he wasn't trying to be discrete about it. Still she tried to continue.

"Like feelings and emotions. That was really…weird for me."

Why was he still getting closer to her?

"And I felt this thing that kind a freaked me out." Her voice trailed off when Tony finally reached her body and began to touch her face. She almost lost her train of thought until she snapped back into reality.

"No Tony, I have to tell you this and you have to listen." Ziva yelled, smacking his hand away from her face. He didn't even look phased, but he did open is mouth to speak.

"You love me."

At first she was in shock with how good he had read her. But she knew if she was silent for too long it would mean he had won. And Ziva would not let him win today.

"You're full of yourself." She whispered, keeping her face straight.

"You didn't deny it."

"Either did you."

They stood like that for a while, in silence and their bodies' only inches away from each other. The deep, brown eyes never left the light, green ones. Everything was so quiet you could hear their breathing.

"Could you stop joking for one second and let me finish what I have to say." Ziva whispered. Tony never really gave her an answer.

"I'm sorry Ziva. I'm sorry for being stupid today, and selfish. I shouldn't have done what I did. But I'm not sorry for being confused…"

"Tony…"

"No Ziva, it's my turn now. Just, let me say this. I've been having these feelings lately, and they're scary. And like you, I've been thinking a lot about them too. And when I think about it, I know what I'm feeling. And I'm scared if I tell you, I'll lose you somehow or someway."

"You love me."

At first Tony was glad she was the one to say it for him. But after another few seconds of silence he knew he had to say if for himself. No, he _wanted _to say it.

"I love you, Ziva David."

She let out a small smile before one, gentle tear crawled out and ventured its way down her check. Tony took his thumb and wiped it away.

"Why are you crying?" He asked, smiling down at her. She never really gave him an actual answer.

"I love you, Tony DiNozzo."

They leaned into each other perfectly and met in one perfect kiss that would seal their fate forever. Though it was hard to say, for both of them. But none of that matter anymore because they had said it, and they had both meant it. And finally after all this time of both of them screwing up and being so romantically dysfunctional, they had found what they were looking for. They both never had got it right, until now.

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><p>"But trust me, it wasn't flowers and roses from there." McGee added at the end once Abby had finished. Everyone seemed to laugh at that, even Evan. He remembered how his parents would fight about the tinest, most stupidest things, but end up laughing over it later. They were good like that.<p>

"I remember one time when we were all at the bar…" Abby began but then looked over at Evan who already seemed interested. But he looked so tired. The story had taken up a lot of the day and they had all missed lunch. Evan would need to be getting back to Gibbs' place soon and the remainder of the team would need to get back to work, even though it was almost five-thirty. "But I'll save that one for another time.

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><p><strong>Sorry for being such a hopeless romantic at the end. I really couldn't help myself. Thanks to <em>SUPERSTAR<em> (thank you soo much, you are so amazing!),_ danielle007 _(Heres the update! Sorry if you're disapointed, but don't worry...that proposal will come soon!),_ leniimarie96_ (You're to nice! Its good to be back!),_ SmellyThePirate_ (You're just flat out amazing and I love you! :D), and _Jazz248 _(Ahaha, I hope you loved it!) and for the anonymous reviewer (I do not know any more stories like this, good luck in finding one though!) for reviewing! you guys really make me smile with your kind words! As always, thanks for reading.**

**-Sam**


	13. Chapter 13

"Why aren't you at work? Don't you and the team have a case?" Evan asked when he walked into the kitchen the next morning. Gibbs was sitting at the table with his first (of many) cup of coffee, newspaper in hand, and his reading glasses propped up on his nose. He looked up from his reading when Evan plopped down next to him after grabbing another pop tart from the cupboard.

"We're not going in today."

"What about Aunt Abby and Uncle Tim?" Evan asked, biting his breakfast snack. Gibbs looked at him and shook his head no. Then went back to reading again without explanation. Evan swallowed his last bite of breakfast before he got up, threw away his garbage, and sat back down next to Gibbs once again.

He was going to have to get used to the whole "small talk" thing with this silver hair man. Usually in the morning, he and his dad could hold up conversations till the point where his mom would have to ask them for a few minutes (seconds even) of silence in the morning. He and his dad would always laugh even more at the way she got so annoyed. But_ not_ talking was more annoying.

"Why?" He finally spoke when couldn't hold his words in any longer.

"Because I told them not too."

"Why?"

Gibbs sighed quietly. He thought Evan was passed the _'why'_ stage of his childhood. He was wrong; kids never stopped asking questions. He made himself a mental note to be patient. Gibbs was going to have to learn right along next to Evan. Secretly, he wished he didn't have to learn. If only Kelly hadn't passed; Gibbs guessed he would've been pretty good at this if his little girl had grown up to be, well, not so little.

"I thought it was better if we all just got a little rest. Stay home for a few more days."

Evan stayed silent after that, but his questions were far from finished. He nodded, like he understood. He hadn't been to school in three days and wasn't really thinking about going back. Not because of the long hours, waking up early, or the school work either. He didn't want to have to face anyone; to see anyone besides his family. He had a problem with others feeling bad for him, with people giving him sympathy.

"So what are we doing today?"

Gibbs knew Evan had been quiet for too long. "Staying home."

"What's there to do here?"

It was actually a good question. Gibbs really wasn't home that often. "Well you could work on unpacking some of those boxes in your room."

Evan's eyes dropped to the floor and his hands made their way to the seams off his shirt. He nervously played around with his clothing until Gibbs noticed. He didn't know Evan was so against the idea. "I could help?"

Evan shook his head no. He rather go back to the office than unpack those boxes full of memories.

Gibbs didn't bother making any more suggestions. Nothing that came out of his mouth was right like it usually was. There was no doubt that he was off his game, he knew it. He hadn't been getting much sleep. Coffee couldn't fix everything. The aficionado took his cup to the sink, not bothering to refill it like he usually did.

"What's wrong?" Evan's whisper echoed through the kitchen. Gibbs looked up to see the boy with his pajamas still on and hair looking like he got into a fight with his sheets last night. They were having eye contact, but it wasn't till a few seconds after Evan spoke, did Gibbs realize he was talking to him.

"Just thinking."

"About what?"

"Things."

"What kind of things?"

And then he was off with the questions again. Gibbs thought he had made it pretty clear he wasn't a big fan of talking, especially when he answered Evan with less than a few syllables. But Evan kept pushing as if he didn't notice Gibbs' reluctance at all.

Or maybe he did notice, and kept talking anyways. He was pretty smart when it came to reading people, another thing he picked up from his parents. He probably kept pushing because he wanted to know more. The kid had to have had a lot of questions and it wasn't considered unusual that he was curious. Evan wanted all his questions answered. Not later either. This boy wanted them answered now. _Needed_ his questions answered now. Whether they were important or not.

"I'm thinking of what we're going to do today." He lied, even though he needed to do some serious consideration on the subject. Evan wasn't just going to entertain himself.

"Not you're not."

"How do you know?" Gibbs usually didn't lie. Sure, he was damn good at it but he was good at a lot of things that he didn't do anymore. Mostly, he was lying for Evan's own good. The boy looked so happy at that kitchen table this morning while he munched on that pop tart. He looked genially, _normally_ happy. It was the first morning Evan didn't wake up with dried tears in his eyes. And Gibbs didn't want to ruin it by actually telling him the truth.

"Your eyes."

There were so many things about him that reminded Gibbs of his agents.

"You're thinking about them, Gibbs. I can tell." Evan continued. "You don't have to hide it from me. I'm going to be okay."

It amazed him how mature this boy was willing to be. How strong he was. How _brave_. And he was only twelve.

By now, Evan had enough of this silence…and this subject. "What movies do you have?" He asked, desperate for something to do.

"Not a lot. Nothing you would like."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I'm sure. DiNozzo didn't like them."

Evan nodded in understanding. "What did dad do when he came over here?"

Gibbs let out a small laugh. "Well, he talked over a glass of bourbon."

"I can't do that." Evan admitted which brought an even bigger smile to Gibbs' mouth. Evan smiled too. He liked these rare moments, especially during this time where nothing seemed happy.

"How about the boat?" Gibbs suddenly suggested folding the newspaper up.

"What about the boat? Your boat?"

Gibbs just smiled at him while waving him over. They walked down to the dimly lit basement where the boat had made some progress since the last time Evan had seen it. This was a few days ago when Gibbs told him about when he first found out about his mom and dad dating. It made him feel sad that Gibbs had worked on it this much in the past days. Mom and dad always said Gibbs worked on his boat to think and escape. He must've been doing a lot of thinking, trying to escape. Evan didn't blame him. Their whole family was trying to do the same.

"Remember how to sand?" Gibbs asked, throwing Evan the sander while taking his own.

"With the grain." Evan stated, taking his tool to the frame of the boat. He was careful and tried his best to make Gibbs' boat look just as well as all of his other boats did. But he kept looking over at the more experienced tool man and realized that Gibbs' side of the boat looked much better than his own. Just when he was bout to give up on the wood Gibbs spoke up.

"Thanks for helping me Evan. I really want to get this boat done."

And now he couldn't just give up, because Gibbs needed him. And at that point, he deserved the help, especially from him. All Gibbs had been doing the past few days was helping Evan get back on his feet. He helped him stop crying, and fall asleep at night. He helped him with all the stories and all the memories. And now he was going to take care of him. The least Evan could do for Gibbs was help him with his boat, even though he was pretty sure he wasn't doing the greatest job. But now he wasn't just going to give up.

Until the phone rang.

Gibbs headed towards the stares but luckily, Evan stopped him. "I got it." He insisted, running up the stairs to grab the phone just in time.

"Hello."

"Good morning. Is this Jethro Gibbs?"

Evan could've sworn he stopped breathing just for a few seconds. It was that awful voice on the other end of the line. That voice that was devious, and weirdly pitched. The voice that Tony never failed to crack jokes about. The voice that Evan met the other morning right in this very kitchen.

"Is anyone there?"

"Yes, hold on." Evan managed to choke out. He called Gibbs upstairs since there was no possible way he would have service down in that hole. When Evan handed him the phone, he was careful to watch Gibbs' expressions. And they weren't good ones. Either was Gibbs' end of the conversation.

"Hello...oh hello Mr. Lynch...yes...but I already signed the papers..."

By now, he was pushing Evan out of the room and pointing towards the basement. Evan obeyed, but still managed to hear some of the conversation.

"I thought everything was already legal. You said yourself there wouldn't be any problems...I don't understand...they named me as his guardian..."

Evan didn't want to listen anymore. He didn't have to hear the full conversation to know what was happening. Certainly everything would be okay and Gibbs would have things settled soon. That didn't mean it didn't scare the boy that something needed to be settled in the first place. Who had a problem with Evan living with Gibbs anyway? Evan sure didn't. And either did Gibbs, or his mom and dad. He thought that should've been enough.

He decided to think differently. Because it _was_ enough, and Evan knew everything would work out. Gibbs would be back down in a matter of minutes with everything settled and they would once again work hard to finish up the boat. But then Gibbs started to raise his voice. And he became a little louder, and louder. Now Evan had to get his mind off of it, and think of completely different things.

Like Abby. She had mentioned, before they left the office last night, about her and his parents at a bar. She had seemed happy to tell it until she realized how late it had been. Evan wanted to know now. He made himself a mental note to remind her about it the next time he saw that happy little Goth.

That's when Gibbs walked down. Evan watched as he played with the phone in his palms. He looked a little worried. It was the type of worried you would only ever get out of Gibbs. Which wasn't much, but rare. Because Gibbs didn't worry much at all. Hardly ever. He usually settled things before you could even start to worry about them.

There was that _usually _word again.

"Was that him?" Evan asked.

No response. So he asked again.

"That was him, wasn't it? That was the lawyer."

At least he got a nod out of him this time. But it was followed by more silence which made Evan irritated. Because he still didn't like how quiet Gibbs could really be. He didn't like how silent he was all the time. Evan knew he would never get used to it.

"What did he say?"

"I think we have a little problem."

* * *

><p><strong>Hey guys! I just wanted to thank everyone for still sticking with this through all this time. It really means a lot! Sorry if there are any extra errors today. It's getting pretty late and I didn't have much time to go through it. Thanks to <em>danielle007, SmellyThePirate, SUPERSTAR (<em>Just out of curiosity, do you have an account? Because I think you should get one!) _SillyMissy98, DS2010, SunnyCitrus10, _and _ShortSarcasm_ for reviewing last chapter. You guys are great. As always, thanks for reading.**

**-Sam**


	14. Chapter 14

It was one of _those _cases. When they thought none of them would ever get through all the possible suspects. When there was so little evidence, there was barely a case to begin with. When they brought in possible killers, they were followed by their lawyers. When there never seemed to be enough coffee or take-out. And the paper work. Every single one of them had at least three paper cuts covering their fingers. So it was easy to imagine that the first place they all went to after it was all over was the bar.

Well Gibbs went straight for his basement and Ducky had his mother to care for, but Abby, Tony, McGee, Ziva, and even Jimmy didn't pass up the chance for a drink.

"So Mr. Gemcity, now that _Pimmy Jalmer _has graduated from dead corpses to actual women, are you going to have to re-write your story line?" Tony joked, taking a sip of his beer. Like expected, Ziva and Abby were to only ones to get a laugh out of that.

"Where did you ever come up with that?" Palmer asked, not angry. He had already gotten over that a few years ago as had everyone else.

"Probably when he was free writing." Laughed Tony who had annoyingly answered McGee's question for him.

"Oh shut up Tony. You're drunk." Tom smiled, which just caused more laughter around the table.

"I wish. After the long week we've had it would be nice."

"But it's a school night. And Gibbs would slap us all silly if even one of us came to work hung-over tomorrow." Ziva cut in. She didn't want to have to drive them home tonight after the past few days.

"How _is_ your engagement going Jimmy?" Abby asked.

"Just great! Breena actually picked out her dress a few days ago. And the invites are being made tomorrow." He looked too happy for his own good. But then again, his friends around him didn't mind. They were all sincerely happy for him anyways.

"Well that's really great." Ziva smiled, thinking about her own future engagement even though it was probably further away than she was imagining it. Didn't they just admit that they loved each other a few weeks ago…maybe?

"Speaking of engagements!" Abby suddenly shouted, shifting her gaze over towards Tony and Ziva, or rather the two of them as a pair. "How are my two favorite agents doing?"

"Hey!" McGee spoke up. "_I'm _not your favorite."

More laughter filled their table. Luckily, the bar was also loud so it hardly made a difference.

"Timmy, you will always be my favorite. I mean, how is my favorite couple?" Abby asked again, battering her eyes at the pair. Ziva found it oddly strange how she felt Abby could just read her mind sometimes.

"Well we're not engaged if that's what you're implying." Tony spoke.

"It's only been a few months, Abby." Ziva continued.

"That's not what I meant!" She giggled. "I'm just curious how everything is going."

That reminded Ziva that she never did get to tell Abby about her and Tony's fight which was closely followed by the exchange of those three words. She would call her tonight, or tomorrow. But she sure as hell wasn't going to tell her about it in front of Palmer or McGee.

"Everything is really great actually." Tony spoke, cutting into her thoughts. Ziva looked over at him and smiled because they both knew he was sincere. And everyone around them did too even though they didn't see him reach over to squeeze her hand under the table.

"I'm so happy for you guys." Abby squeaked, smiling even bigger. "Imagine what Gibbs would have done if he actually followed that damn rule."

"Oh please. Gibbs doesn't follow any of his rules." McGee announced and everyone nodded in agreement.

"What do you think he's doing right now?" Abby asked, wandering off into her own thoughts and thinking them out loud as usual.

"Who? Gibbs?" McGee asked in return.

"Yeah."

"Probably working on that boat. Does anyone know how he gets that thing out of his basement every year?" His question was never answered.

"No! I mean, do you guys think he has someone. Like, a girl." Abby suggested. Everyone took their time to over think that question because it was a pretty difficult one to figure out. Hell, Gibbs himself was difficult to figure out. Finally, Tony came up with the best answer out of any of them.

"I'm pretty sure that bottle of bourbon is enough for him right now."

And the table was surrounded by laughter once again. Only this time, a tall, blonde, woman was standing with them.

"Does anyone need refills over here?" She smiled, leaning in a little closer to Tony as she passed out small napkins just in case.

"No, I think we're all good here." Jimmy chirped in.

"Yeah, it's a _school night_." Abby mocked while Ziva just rolled her eyes playfully at her. The blonde smiled and quickly left the table before she was any more of an interruption. Little did she know they would be talking about her for the rest of the night.

"Well would you look here!" Tony suddenly shouted, holding up his napkin with seven digits neatly written with black marker. "I knew she was leaning into me a little too closely."

"You're full of yourself!" McGee laughed.

"The napkin speaks for itself McJealous." He showed off the napkin to his friend who just squinted at it in disbelief.

"How is it that you can _not _be single and still get hit on?" McGee asked.

"Must be my DiNozzo charm!"

"Seriously though, I'm the only single one here!"

"What about me Tim?" Abby asked.

"She was a girl, Abby."

"Well, it still would've been flattering."

"Let me see that." Ziva interrupted, snatching the napkin from her boyfriend's hands.

"Looks like I'm not the only one who's jealous." McGee observed.

"Should I be jealous?" Ziva asked, shooting a look towards Tony. The three of their friends all took it as a joke and laughed while Tony and Ziva were busy locking eyes.

"Not at all." Tony whispered giving her hand another reassuring squeeze. And if anyone were to here him say that, it would've been taken casually. Unless you were looking deep into those green eyes like Ziva was. She couldn't help but smile. It was hard to pull back to reality as their friend's laughter settled down.

"Do you want it, McGee?" Tony asked, throwing the white paper towards him. He took it and studied it. Debating.

"Nah, she's not my type."

"What? Tall, blonde, and serves beer?" Jimmy laughed, along with all his friends. And then all their laughter died down. Their glasses were slowly empting and they all knew they couldn't be refilled. Because they all did have to work in the morning even though they just finished a few sixteen hour work days. It was getting late too. But before they left, McGee was able to savior their fun night for a few more seconds. Because he really needed his questioned answered.

"But really guys…how do you think the boss gets that boat out of his damn basement?"

"McGee thinks he's pretty funny, huh?" Tony asked as they walked into their house just getting home from the bar. Ziva sensed the sarcasm.

"Not as funny as _you_." She said, throwing her jacket off on the couch on top of Tony's. He smiled at that. Mostly because he knew she was just as good as joking with him as he was with her. And he loved her for that.

"I am exhausted." She stated, heading for the bedroom to change into one of his old t-shirts. He had to stop her though. Because even though there was a lot of joking happening at the bar tonight, there was also something he really couldn't get out of his mind.

"So…" And that was his awkward way of starting things.

"So?" She repeated, wondering why he was still gently holding onto her arm, preventing her from getting the rest that she desperately needed. She knew he needed some sleep too.

"Do you ever think about getting engaged?" He asked her looking at those beautiful brown eyes for the second time tonight.

"Yes. I do." She whispered.

"That's something that you want, right?"

"Yes."

"Okay."

"Tony. It's barely been half a year."

"Wow, that long already?" He was getting nervous. She could tell by the way he brought up his hand (that wasn't holding her arm anymore) to the back of his head and messed with his hair that was already perfect.

"We don't want to get engaged right now. It would be too soon…right?" Now she doubted herself.

"Right. I was just…making sure." He leaned down and kissed her slightly. It was one of those kisses that always teased her. They always ended too soon and left Ziva wanting more. She was pretty sure Tony knew that too.

"Let's have fun tonight." He whispered. They were so close she would feel his breath on her face when he spoke.

"I'm so tired, Tony."

"So?" He smiled and she laughed. That was something they were good at.

"Maybe you should've kept that waitress' number. I bet she's wide awake."

"She's isn't the one I'm getting engaged to."

"We're not engaged." They were still so close. And his warm breath on her face was seriously making her reconsider his offer. It didn't help that he kept playing with her hair and gently guiding his fingers up and down her spine.

"Yeah, I know. But we will be later. I think you can wait a little longer."

"How much longer?" Ziva asked, bringing her arms around his torso just to touch him.

"I'm not sure yet." Tony teased, and suddenly escaped from her grasp and headed for the bedroom.

"You better promise me we'll get engaged Anthony DiNozzo!" Ziva laughed, chasing after him towards their room until she finally reached him and finally jumped up on his back. She wrapped her legs around his torso and laid gentle kisses on his neck. Having fun instead of sleeping sounded too good right now.

"Are you asking me to marry you, Ziva David?" Tony smiled and they finished their walk to the room. She laughed as he threw her on the bed and bent over her body placing his palms on either side of her head. His lips were, once again, so close.

"No, I'm asking later. Or at least you better be asking later. Right now, let's just have fun." Ziva finally agreed. Because really, she had already been fully awake the moment he laid his hands on her.

* * *

><p>"Okay, so I told you the story. Now you have to tell me what happened." Abby pleaded to Evan, who was feeling a little better now that he finally knew about the bar. She heard some of the story from Gibbs, but she knew better. He wouldn't give her the whole story the way Evan would. He gave her a smile, because he knew that would make her feel good.<p>

"Mom and dad's lawyer called yesterday." Evan whispered. He hadn't really started when the Goth's arms were already around him.

"That can't be good." She said, still holding on tightly to the boy. And all he could was nod because it wasn't good.

It made him sick and just thinking about it made him shiver. He didn't want to be fought over. He didn't want Gibbs to loose. Or maybe, he just didn't want his "grandpa" to win. He didn't know his mom's dad at all. At least he knew his other grandpa, Senior. But he wasn't the one who wanted him taken away from Gibbs. It was Eli who didn't want any part of Gibbs. And that scared Evan, because he knew Director David was a powerful man and usually got what he wanted.

"But Gibbs says that Director David really won't have a fighting chance in court." He continued to explain to Abby. "Mom and dad already named him as my guardian. He says that the only reason we're going to court in the first place is because he's the Director of Mossad."

"Gibbs is right, Evan." She whispered, rubbing his back to calm him down a little. He wasn't crying, just talking fast. "He won't let Eli win anyways."

"Are you sure?"

"One-hundred percent, kid." Now she was standing up and helping him up as well. Abby tussled his hair and gave his back one last pat. "When do you guys go?"

"Tomorrow."

"That soon?" Abby asked a little shocked. But then again, it was Eli David they were dealing with here.

* * *

><p><strong>Oh another update! Thanks to all the lovely reviews last chapter. I know I haven't left much time in between this and last chapter but I'm going away for Easter. As always, thanks for reading!<strong>

**-Sam**


	15. Chapter 15

His hands grasped the doors tightly, but Evan didn't dare pull the handles. Why was he so afraid? _Gibbs won't let anything happen to you._ Abby's voice had been echoing through his head all morning when he reluctantly put on his tie for family court.

Court. Maybe it was that word that was unknowingly threatening him. Evan had over heard many conversations between his mom and dad about court and when they had to go to trials because of work. The way they would talk about it made him feel that there was nothing but disaster behind these tall doors. Evan's hands were starting to sweat from gripping the handles too tightly. He had had enough with court already, and he hadn't even gone in.

Evan turned around to face Gibbs who was waiting paitently behind him. "I don't wan to go in."

He let out an unexpected smile and then replied with "Yeah, me neither." Which was even more unexpected than the smile to both Evan and Clyde, their lawyer who was standing behind Gibbs.

"So we can go?" Evan asked, stepping even further away from the doors.

"Yeah. You could say that." Gibbs admitted. Clyde sighed loudly from behind. Both of them managed to ignore it. The silver hair man placed his hands gently on Evan's shoulders and spoke again. "But if we just leave now, and don't go through those doors." Gibbs made sure to point at them so the boy's attention would go to the object. "Then I'm gone. And so is Abby, McGee, and Ducky and Palmer. Which means your grandpa David will become your new guardian."

"Don't...call him that." Evan whispered, having lost the bit of respect he did have for Eli David. He still wasn't sure why they had to go through this whole process anyways. It was stupid not trusting Gibbs. It was outrageous not trusting his own mother and father's judgement. And if he felt this way, Evan wanted no business of Eli David being called his grandpa.

"Okay." Gibbs said in a way that told Evan he understood. But Gibbs wasn't done. "So we can leave and you get taken away from me, or we go in that room and show Eli why your mom and dad chose me over him."

"Thats what this is about, isn't it?" Evan asked, having all of Gibbs' lectures finally click together in his brain.

"About what?" Either Gibbs was playing dumb or hadn't thought of it yet. Evan was leaning towards the playing dumb option since Gibbs knew everything before anyone.

"Mom's dad is just mad. He just wants to win me to throw it in your face, to prove mom and dad wrong. Abby told me he likes power and has a lot of it. He's just jealous...isn't he?"

As soon as Gibbs stood back up and nudged Evan to the door he knew he was right. His guardian didn't mean a single thing to Eli at all. It was a competition. A _challenge_. Evan didn't budge and he could tell by the noises coming from Clyde that the trial was about to begin.

"Evan. We have to go in there if you want to stay with me."

"I know."

Gibbs motioned his hands towards the door again, trying to get Evan to move. Eventually, after a long moment for the boy to get his thoughts straight, Evan gripped the handles of the door and pulled it open. The three of them walked in together, just in time to see the judge settling in, along with Eli David and his lawyer. And then Eli turned around.

Evan's collar on his dress shirt began tightening up and he was sure his tie was going to choke him. Gibbs kept giving him little nudges trying to urge him forward, but Evan's feet were loosing the ability to move. Now Clyde was whispering something. He was probably worried that people were watching them struggle down the aisle. But when Evan looked around the court, the only person that was watching them was Eli. Not like there were any people here at all. Thats right, this was family court.

Some family they were.

Evan, Gibbs, and Clyde finally reached their seats as the judge announced, "Lets begin."

* * *

><p>"Evan! Evan! Evan! Evan!" Abby's platform boots echoed off the tile as she ran down the hallway. You could have heard her a mile away. McGee was running awkwardly behind her, trying to keep up but as usual Abby was far ahead. It was amazing how well she could sprint in those shoes. She started off attacking Evan with hugs and an ear full of questions. "How is everything going? Where is Gibbs? Did the judge make a final decision yet? Where is Eli? I would like to get my hands on him..." Evan silently thanked McGee with a smile when he pulled Abby away for a few moments.<p>

"Everything went fine, I think." Evan assured the pair when they sat down on the bench next to him. "Gibbs is in there with Clyde, the lawyer, and Eli. I didn't want to be in there to hear what the judge had to say, so they let me leave until then."

"Whatever the judge is going to say is worth you hearing." Abby explained, "He won't say anything bad because he knows Gibbs is the right person who should be looking after you. He is more of a family than Eli is."

"Plus, Tony and Zi..." McGee stopped himself short, choking on his last words. Evan never realized it was so hard on McGee. He had done good hiding it besides his and Abby's fight down in the lab a few days ago. It was weird hearing his voice crack at even the mention of their names. McGee found a way to re-word it. "_They_ named Gibbs as guardian and that is that. There is no way a judge will go back on their decision."

Even with their words, Evan still was nervous. Technically, Eli was his family. He was sure the judge would have to recognize that. Maybe Eli's lawyer would try to make his parents seem incapable of making important decisions while making out their will. Maybe they were in the middle of a case and weren't able to focus under the stress...

Stress was killing Evan right now. Just thinking of how many possible arguments that could've happened in there after he left made him sick. He needed comfort. Reassurance. He needed a good story.

"Prove it." Evan demanded, playing with the end of his dress shirt nervously. He had already worn down his tie to the seams.

Abby and McGee both gave him a confused look and asked "Prove what?"

"Prove to me that its impossible to go back on _their _decision. That mom and dad knew Gibbs would be able to take care and protect me like they thought. I need to be sure."

Evan hadn't asked for a lot, so McGee gave him what he wanted.

* * *

><p>It was late and everyone was dying to go to bed. The coffee buzz had ended about an hour ago for the agents but the leads were at a high point in their case. Why stop now when they were having such good luck? That was Gibbs' logic. Tony, Ziva, and McGee just wanted a nap. That was enough logic for the three musketeers. All they could do at that point was talk about what a terrible time they were having as soon as Gibbs left the squad room.<p>

"Not even coffee is going to help me now."

"I have a lot of leads, but I need Abby to run fingerprints to make sure they are legit."

"I know shes running them, but the system is taking a while."

"I heard she pulled out the air mattress and Bert. Its going to be a long night."

"More like a long morning. I cannot call anyone because it is two in the morning and no one is awake! I already have that Thursday morning feeling."

"I think you mean Monday morning feeling, Ziva."

"Yes, but it is Thursday."

Their banter went on until Gibbs came strolling back in, the swagger switch turned to 'on.'

"Lets go, grab your gear." He commanded as his team looked at him in astonishment. He waved them on, but neither of the three budged.

"I can't get a hold of anyone at this time of night. How did you get orders?" Ziva asked, desperate to know his secret.

"I didn't. I have a good lead." Gibbs tried explaining.

"How did you manage to do that?" Tony couldn't help but have a bit of attitude in his voice. It was mostly the lack of sleep. He hadn't watched a movie in over 24 hours either.

"Abby called. We got a match." Gibbs waved his file in the air as proof.

"She didn't call me." McGee pouted, looking at his phone. He thought she had passed out on her lab floor snuggling with Bert.

Gibbs stared at his team wondering why they weren't already in the elevator. None of this was his fault beside the fact that he had got a better lead out of the many they already had. "Lets go." He snapped, leading them towards the exit. Tony, McGee, and Ziva struggled to grab their things because of sleepiness, but managed to squeeze through the elevator doors just as they were closing.

Something was off the moment their car pulled into the driveway. For starters, the house was lit up like a Christmas tree, at two in the morning. Ziva spotted two shadows in the window and pointed. The team followed the direction of her finger but kept quiet. Gibbs put his own finger to his mouth and led his team towards the house. Out of no where the whole yard was filled with yelling and screaming. The four of them stopped dead until they learned the arguing was coming from inside of the house. Admittedly their guns were drawn.

Shots fired.

They each clung to the nearest person possible and began splitting up. Ziva and McGee went for the back while Tony and Gibbs took on the front. "Kick in the door." Tony heard Gibbs demand. Without hesitation his foot went towards the door, successfully kicking it in. He couldn't help but be impressed with himself. How could he not be when he was kicking in doors half asleep?

Sleep. If Tony were to receive a bed right now he would be dropping to his knees crying in happiness. A bed. Sleep. Probably next to Ziva, whose snores he's gotten used to by now. Ziva. Why had she gone with McGee? Why wasn't she with him? Better question; why wasn't he with her? He knew she could protect herself, and McGee, but he was strangely curious as to why they didn't go with each other. Where was she and the Probie anyways? Had he seen them after the door was kicked in? Had he seen anything after he kicked the door in? Why was he asking himself so many stupid questions that probably had no answer to them?

"Tony!"

Tony snapped out of his tired trance just in time to see his boss jumping in front of him. There was a shot, and two more followed that. And when Tony finally took some time to study his surroundings, there was two bleeding bodies. One was dead, and another was his boss. Tony dropped to his knees, but not in happiness.

"Boss, can you hear me?" He asked, turning over Gibbs' limp body on his back. The silver, risky, fox was holding his arm. Tony had to sigh in relief that the bullet to plunge right into Gibbs' chest. Ziva and McGee crouched down next to Tony to see their boss. Ziva's gun was drawn, freshly fired. She had shot the suspect that put a bullet through Gibbs' arm. McGee already had his phone out.

"I'll call a bus." He reported.

"Don't bother McGee." Gibbs said from the ground. He sat up clutching his arm and scrunching all the muscles in his face.

"So you're going to be fine boss?" Tony asked, feeling terrible for not being focus on the job. He should've grabbed an extra cup of coffee before they left. He would've been more alert instead of drowsy.

"Of course not DiNozzo."

Tony's face dropped. Ziva and McGee shifted their attention between them.

"He shot my head slapping arm." Gibbs announced, smacking his senior agent on the back of the head with his other hand. "Its not the same."

Tony was left speechless while Ziva and McGee busted out into laughter.

* * *

><p>"Are you listening to me?" McGee asked. Evan looked up from his lap to McGee with a small nod. "If Gibbs would take a bullet for Tony, I'm more than sure he is going to take one for you."<p>

"Hes going to protect you, we promise." Abby assured, taking her nephew's hands into hers.

"How do you know Eli won't..." Evan's whisper was cut off by Gibbs walking through those scary doors Evan could barely open earlier. Gibbs stood before the three of them, Clyde coming up short. They stood like that for a few moments, staring each other down. Evan was eager to hear what Gibbs was going to say; what was their decision? Why wasn't Gibbs just saying it? Now he was asking questions like his father.

The smile that slowly came around the corner of Gibbs' mouth said it all. "Lets go home."

* * *

><p><strong>I'm just going to apologize to you all and hope you are all still willing to read this after two months. As always, thanks for reading.<strong>

**-Sam**


	16. Chapter 16

With the trial being over it seemed like a load was lifted off his shoulders. Not a big load, there was still a lot on his mind. More than he cared to admit. His mom, his dad, their lives, their death, their funeral. One less thing to worry about, a whole book full left. Not what you would expect a twelve year-old boy to be worrying about. If children even worry at all.

"What are you thinking about?" McGee asked from the driver's seat of his car. What wasn't Evan thinking about was a better question.

"Nothing." Was his lie of an answer.

Tim wasn't stupid. His nephew had, and was still going through, hell. He'd suffered through more pain than any person, any _ child _has gone through. Should have to go through. Would ever have to go through.

Nothing.

Evan was a better liar than Tim had guessed.

"What do you want to do tonight?"

"Nothing."

His voice was flat, colder than a winter breeze, yet normal some how. Maybe thats what their normal had come to; cold and depressing. Sad and lonely, without two people that were so apart of their world.

"There has to be something." McGee insisted. "A movie...maybe?"

Evan looked at his Uncle Tim strangely.

"Sorry." Was McGee's response.

"Is Gibbs tired of me already?" Evan sighed, looking out the window.

McGee never knew one sentence could pierce his heart so sharply. Especially a sentence that wasn't even about him. "No. Never. Gibbs loves you like his own. We all do."

"Doesn't matter. I'm not anyone's kid anymore."

Why was he being so cold? Gibbs had won custody, he was now Evan's legal guardian. His new parent. That was what Evan had wanted, wasn't it?

"Boss just had to make a few...phone calls." McGee tried explaining. Evan saw right through him.

"Funeral arrangements."

By this time McGee had pulled into his driveway and shut the car off. He was seriously contemplating on calling Abby for advice on Evan. But he already knew what she would say.

"I need to tell you something, Evan." McGee revealed. Evan turned towards his uncle questionably.

"What is it?"

"Something about Tony and Ziva."

* * *

><p>"Abby."<p>

"What'd ya' got Tony?" She answered almost admittedly. The scientist was hopping around her lab like a wild rabbit. Obviously, she was busy. Late, late, for a very important date. _Save the movie references for later, Tony. _Now he was mentally giving himself a lecture.

"Tony, what do you need? I'm swimming in evidence up to my eyeballs and have..."

"What do you think about this?" Tony interrupted, pulling out the ring box he had been carrying around for weeks. It settled in his hands, untouched since the day he bought it. Abby turned around to see the small velvet box resting in Tony's finger tips. She gasped quietly, her black nails touched her lips, and all deadlines were forgotten.

"Tony." She whispered, reaching for the box. The pair locked eyes and DiNozzo nodded to her. Permission had been granted.

Abby gently opened the ring box only to gasp again.

"I needed your approval. You are the main reason we're together." Tony explained.

"_One _of the reasons. Certainly not the _main _reason." Abby restated, eyes still locked on the beautiful ring.

"Yeah." Tony laughed a little, rubbing the back of his neck. "But what do you think of it?"

"I'ts absolutely perfect, Tony." She admired, finally looking up at her best friend. "I love it. _Ziva _is going to love it. You better take it away before I try it on."

The both laughed as Tony returned his ring back to his suit pocket.

"When are you going to propose?"

"I've been waiting for the right time. Believe it or not, but I've been carrying around this ring for weeks now." Tony admitted, then studied the Goth more closely. "Are you crying, Abbs?"

"Yes. Yeah I am." Abby rubbed her eyes and smiled big. "I'm just so happy for you." She squealed and embraced the very Special Agent with a big hug. When Tony finally left, the amount of work meant nothing to Abby anymore. She dropped everything she was doing and phoned McGee from upstairs.

"Yeah Abbs?" He answered.

"I need you down in my lab. Right. Now."

* * *

><p>Tony approached her desk with ease, just like he always did. It was like nothing was different, even though everything was. Especially the weight in his suit pocket. "You want to take a break?" He asked, flashing a smile.<p>

Ziva barely looked up at him when she sighed loudly in relief. "I thought you would never ask."

During their walk to the break room Ziva began to develop a small limp. Tony couldn't remember how long it had been since he had seen her in heels, but today she had picked out a very sexy, very tall, black pair. And he could tell she was ready to rip them off and whip them right out the window. Even though he had investigated, Tony still had to ask. "What's wrong with your feet?"

In frustration Ziva let out a loud sigh towards her boyfriend. "Do you remember this morning at all?"

"Not really." Of course, it was a complete lie. But he had to distract her. Something was nagging him. Tony was sure Ziva was onto him even though the only thing she could think about was how good her feet were going to feel once she reached her bed for the night.

"So you know how I was running all over the apartment this morning?"

"How could I forget that?"

"Very funny. But I could not find my shoes. I ended up picking these pair out that my Aunt Nettie sent me for my birthday last year. And my feet are in so much pain I cannot stand it! The only day that I choose to wear heels is the day the elevator breaks down. I do not think that has happened _once_ since I have worked here. Maybe when they power was out...but other than that."

"Okay, clam down. You're starting to ramble." Tony stated, receiving a deathly look from his girlfriend. It only made him want to propose even more. "Besides, you look great in them. Better than great, actually. Sexy is more like it..."

"You will not be saying that when we get home. I am going to have blisters on my toes for weeks."

"Ew. Ziva."

"I am only try to warn you, Tony." She smiled, opening up the doors to the break room. The wall of vending machines were calling her name. Ziva ran (as well as she could in her shoes) towards the snacks and stood in front of them like a small child in a candy store. Tony leaned his shoulder against the machine. He watched her study the candy.

"Aren't you supposed to offer to buy me something?"

Tony laughed and handed over a dollar. Ziva fed the machine and let her finger hover over the buttons. She licked her lips hungrily. Searching for a pair of shoes during the morning really cut into her usual breakfast bagel. "I have no idea what to choose."

"Do you need another dollar?"

"You are very funny today." Ziva said. Her sarcasm was overbearing. Tony just shrugged and accepted it as a complement. Tony dug his hands down into his suit. His fingers brushed the small box that was holding their future. Good thing his nerves had calmed down a few days after he bought the ring. DiNozzo's didn't get nervous anyways.

"Remember when we were here?"

"You mean, yesterday?"

"No. A few years ago." Tony explained. Ziva hadn't chosen her poison yet but that didn't stop Tony from taking her by the shoulders and pressing her back against the machine. He placed himself next to her. "Joggling any memories, David?"

"I do not even know what joggling means, Tony. I thought we came here for a snack..."

"Soul mates."

Ziva turned her head to him. Feeling her glance, Tony looked back at her. Instantly, their eyes locked. It was like a game they played. Who would look away first? Who would break the silence? Who would walk away? Instead, they both just stared into each other's eyes trying to see if mind reading was actually possible. Even after nine months of dating this game was still played, often.

"You just said..."

"Soul mates. Remembering now?"

"Yes. You were a complete..."

"Jerk. Yeah, I know. Maybe I was just...confused." Tony added. Their silence had been destroyed, but their eyes were still sparking. Her brown eyes never left his green.

"Is there a reason you are finishing my sentences?" Ziva wondered.

"I think seeing your eyes squint and eyebrows come together whenever I interrupt you is pretty cute." Why wasn't he getting on with it? They sure couldn't stay in the break room forever. Gibbs would be hunting them down in the next few minutes, coffee fresh on his breath. He could probably smell them a mile away. Was he scared of rejection? He wasn't scared. Maybe just unsure.

"So you were confused?" Ziva continued.

"You heard that, huh? I thought maybe all my interrupting would somehow distract you." Tony admitted, acting nervous. He had to keep reminding himself that he wasn't allowed to be nervous.

"Explain." Ziva smiled, shifting so her shoulder leaned on the vending machine that had been completely forgotten. She faced Tony now. He had nowhere to go.

"A few years ago, soul mates didn't mean anything to me. At all. I always thought...who would believe in that stuff anyways? That one person in this world is meant for you...and only you. Soul mates was just a bunch of sappy crap you only saw in movies."

Ziva studied him hard. Up till this point, he had been normal. Well, as about as normal as Tony was, or would ever be. But this talk had turned pretty quickly. She didn't mind it. She actually liked him opening up. It was difficult for both of them to talk about their feelings. Usually something important triggered it. Where was he taking this? What was he trying to get at?

"Earth to Ziva?"

"Yes! What? I am listening."

"Really? So slowly turning your head towards these awful orange walls, staring off into space and only blinking your eyes once is listening?" He wasn't mad. Actually, Tony was only trying to lighten the mood while talking about something so serious.

"Sorry, sorry. But what's different, Tony? What's changed in the past few years?"

"You, Ziva. It's you. You are whats different." Tony admitted, trying to find himself in those beautiful brown eyes. She looked back at him and studied his face from lips to eyes. Before either of them knew it, Tony was pulling his hand out of his suit pocket. Ziva gasped, just the same as Abby, when she saw the little box in his palm. Ziva hands flew to her mouth, her focus switched from Tony to the box, and she couldn't stop blinking.

"Tony." She whispered, but he continued.

"I get the soul mate thing now. I understand it. You helped me figure it out, whether you know it or not. Because I think you are...my soul mate." He was finished now, or was he? He hadn't opened the box to flash the ring that would fit perfectly around her finger. He hadn't asked her the question she was now waiting for. Maybe it was her turn now. She was so seriously stunned, only one thing was able to squeak out of her mouth.

"You _think_?" Ziva asked, slowly taking her hands off her face to flash her smile.

"I _know_." Tony smiled back. "So, Ziva David...Will you marry me?" He opened the box. Ziva could've swore she saw the ring glow a little. It was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen.

"Aren't you suppose to be on one knee?" She asked, taking his free hand in her own, twirling her fingers within his.

"Is that a yes?"

"Of course it is."

Tony took the ring from the box and put it on Ziva's finger. It slid on perfectly. She had to take a moment to admire it before she spit out an "I love you."

"I love you too. Now lets get you off those shoes." Tony grabbed her by the waist so her feet would rise above the ground. Ziva held his face and kissed him gently. He could feel the ring from his cheek. He could also feel her smiling between the kisses and her tongue creeping toward his lips. They had to stop though because they heard a squeal and a whisper from the corner.

"You two are engaged!"

"Do you think they know there's still a dollar in that machine?"

No doubt, it was Abby and McGee.

* * *

><p><strong>Did anyone say wedding? Soon guys, very very soon(:<strong>

**Thanks for your lovely reviews last chapter!**

**-Sam**


	17. End - For Now

Hey guys. So I'm assuming you've noticed my departure from fanfiction that was much longer than I actually anticipated. I apologize for just leaving you hanging for so long but I'm afraid I won't be finishing this story any time soon. Call it a lack of inspiration or maybe boredom from it but I am sure it won't be finished in the near future. I may pick back up on it later but it is highly doubtful. I am working on something recently that is rather a bit different than stuff I have written before and hope to get it up sometime soon. I apologize again for not finishing this story and thank everyone for staying with me even though I pretty much abandoned this story.


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